Majaga brings bronze for Team Botswana

Paralympic Association of Botswana (PASSOBO), the custodians of all sport codes for people with disabilities have expressed contentment on the performance of the team from the just ended World Para Athletics championships.

The games were held in Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Japan and Team Botswana was represented by five (5) athletes, namely; Bonkamile Bankaetse, Ronald Rich, Bose Mokgwathi, Edwin Masuge and Gloria Majaga.

Despite managing a single podium finish which earned Team Botswana a Bronze medal, thanks to Gloria Majaga’s exploits, Mpho Pheto, Vice President Technical at PASSOBO told BG Sport that they used the championships to gear up for the Paralympics slated for Paris in August 2024 and they are happy with how the team performed.

“We travelled to Japan and what was key for us was to use the games as part of the preparations for the Paralympics which will be happening in August in Paris, France. What we are delighted for most importantly is that, our team had enough preparation ahead of the games and that is not always the case. Our athletes were on camp for three weeks; we didn’t suffer any injuries and the results are showing. For the very first time at the games, a female won us a medal, a bronze medal, and we are delighted for her, it is a huge achievement for us,” Pheto said.

He said their target was to bring home a medal from the games.

“It would have been nice if we had won gold, looking at the team we assembled but we are content with how the athletes competed, their individual performances are satisfying. We are awaiting the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] to give the report and see where we rank, including possibilities on Paralympics qualification but am confident we will be represented at the games. We will see how many slots will be allocated to us,” he added.

The Vice President Technical at PASSOBO further noted that they will look to send athletes to any qualifying competitions either locally or internationally to increase their chances of qualifying more athletes for the multi-Paralympic sporting games, funds permitting.

He admitted, however that there is still a room for improvement and called for support to enable them to achieve their goals.

“Para sport is a big sport and people should understand these athletes need our support and it may come in various forms including training equipment’s and financial means which will go a long way to help them be ready for

Paris, so we implore the business community and the community to come through and support us. It is not only athletics, there are other sporting disciplines in which we have athletes who can represent us,” he said.

IPC are expected to announce the report from the games within the next two weeks. For the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Botswana was represented by two athletes, Edwin Masuge and Gloria Majaga but both failed to secure a podium finish.