Moorosi Tsiane
TEAM Lesotho won 13 medals at the 2016 Africa Union Sports Council (AUSC) Games from 9 to18 December in Luanda, Angola.
Of these six were gold medals, three silver and four bronze in athletics and boxing while netball and tennis were the only disciplines where the country failed to win anything.
Middle distance runner Manqabang Tsibela was one of the stars of the show, scooping two gold medals in the 1500 and 3 000 metres, while Tšepang Sello also won gold in the 800 metres and silver in 1500 metres in the female categories.
Toka Badboy scooped two gold medals in the 3000 and 5000 metres while Tšepang Maqaleha won gold in the 10 000 and silver in the 3000 metres male categories respectively.
Bolae Lekoetje got silver and Khotso Mojaki settled for bronze in the Elite Athletes with Disability (EAD) category’s 400 and 200 metres competitions respectively.
Boxers, Thabiso Ranthamane (52kg), Tlolohelo Mokhesi (49kg) and Mohau Tsie (60kg) all got bronze medals.
In all, the 13 medals were just one more than those the country won at the 2014 tournament in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
However, the team’s chef de mission, Limpho Rakoto expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance which was achieved against the backdrop of shoddy preparations.
“I am impressed with the performance of my team who showed they have potential to do even better looking considering how shaky our preparations were,” Rakoto, adding, “they showed character”.
“Even in the sporting codes where we did not win any medals especially in tennis you could see the commitment from the players because we lost in the semi-finals so it is only in netball where we did not do well.”
She said there was however, need for improvement and called on the country’s sports associations to get their act together to improve standards.
“There are few things that I noticed but it is only fair that we wait for the coaches’ reports.
“But we have a good team and if it was up to me I would keep all 38 athletes for continuity’s sake,” Rakoto said.
Rakoto said the scorching heat was the biggest challenge in Angola.
“It was too hot and our players struggled to cope as we arrived late and had little time to acclimatise. But then again those are the challenges that our athletes should always expect.
“The exposure they gained will be very important in their careers,” she said.
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