Ryder Gabathuse
23 October 2008
Francistown — Lentswe Zwinila, bronze medallist in boxing at the just-ended Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India, will be given a hero's welcome today at the Masunga village Kgotla.
One of the organisers of the welcoming ceremony, Tshwarelo Hosia, a teacher at Masunga Senior Secondary School told Mmegi Sport yesterday that after Zwinila's achievement, he deserves to be honoured in a big way. The boxer was knocked out in the semi-finals at the games.
"He deserves to be honoured in a big way as his achievement is not a small one by any measure. We sent our student to India to represent Botswana and he did very well by bringing home a bronze medal in boxing while another student from McConnell, Daniel Lagamang got a silver medal in 800m," Hosia said.
Hosia stated that in line with the recently introduced pastoral policy, the school is jointly involved in the welcoming of the boxer with the Masunga community. "We are defying a proverb which says a prophet has no honour in his own village by honouring this athlete in his very own home village. Zwinila performed with aplomb and promises to do well in future," he said.
In Zwinila's honour, Masunga Senior Secondary School authorities will take a contingent of Form Four students to march from the school to the main Kgotla wielding placards carrying the message to the villagers about the boxer's success. Hosia explained that the current management of Masunga Senior Secondary School has been working round the clock to improve the situation at the institution. "We were blessed last year when our students clocked position seven out of the 27 schools nationally for the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). Zwinila's academic performance shows that the18-year-old is making good progress. He is well behaved, a law-abiding student and he is committed to his school-work. He is not a high-flyer but he is a promising student by all accounts," Hosia said.
Zwinila's mother Goitsemang Zwinila (52) who is a messenger at the health department of North East District Council (NEDC) in Masunga describes his son as humble and soft. "He takes instructions without question and he has not shown any interest in night life except his number one sport, boxing," she told Mmegi Sport.
Goitsemang has long known that her sixth child and last-born would take boxing seriously after he declared his love for the sport at an early age. "He once complained that he would not join his three brothers who play football due to occasional knee problems. His teachers are always at my house seeking permission for him to stay late at school training or taking him on a trip," said the proud mother. She does not think his son's attention will be distracted from schoolwork by his involvement in boxing.
She is not surprised that her last-born child has brought honour to the country and Masunga village, the headquarters of the North East District. "I have always promised my son full support from the family and we are all giving him exactly that. He is the first to venture into boxing," she said.
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