Maseru — No one could proceed to the respectable stage in the Sydney 2000 Olympics as all six Basotho athletes were eliminated in the preliminaries of the games last month.

Six athletes, all of whom qualified for Sydney and all on whom the sport lovers were pinning their hopes, have failed to make their presence felt in Sydney bringing home no medals.

Likeleli Thamae, the taekwondo lady champion who was flown to Korea for training earlier this year was eliminated in the preliminaries. Thamae, who impressed in the All Africa Games last year, lost against her Cuban opponent. The injury also forced her to throw the towel in her second fight against the Mexican challenger.

Mokete Mokhosi who went to Korea together with Thamae was beaten on a first appearance.

Thabiso Moqhali, also the Lesotho marathon champion who excelled in the Commonwealth championships, and got home with a gold medal, failed to bring home a medal. He was the first Mosotho to meet the 2000 Sydney Olympics qualifying standards, but the athlete could not even appear in the top ten. He took position 16 in a race won by the Kenyan athlete.

Boxers, Sibusiso Keketsi and Mosoletsa Tsie could also not get beyond the preliminaries. The Lesotho boxing coaches who were at the Olympics and watched as their fighters were being demolished. They said the fighters tried their best amidst torridness conditions brought by the superiority of the foreign judges.

They suggested that strong preparations should be in place long ahead of the games if the country was to regain its lost pride. They said that the government should invest in the promotion of sporting activities, which they said is the sole responsibility of the ministry of sport and culture.