Botswana: Poor Start for Botswana Badminton Team

By Anastacia Sibanda

Tlokweng — Team Botswana started the All Africa Senior Badminton Championships on a low note after the men's team lost 5-0 to Nigeria.

Nigeria, which is regarded as one of Africa's superpowers, came out guns blazing, winning all their matches by convincing margins.

First on court for Team Botswana was Tsamorena Kgosidialwa, who lost 21-11 and 21-10 to Nigerian Aljaji Shehu.

In the second match, Botswana's Tefo Kabomo lost 21-9, 21-3 to Nigerian Joseph Abel, while Godknows Ketlhabanetswe went down 21-12, 21-7 to Ibrahim Ahmed.

In the doubles, Botswana lost 21-14, 21-13 in the first match, and in the second match they were defeated 21-12, 21-15.

Team Botswana coach Oreeditse Thela said in an interview that his team did not have a good start, adding that although they lost 5-0, the team did well considering that Nigeria also beat them with a big margin.

The coach said what let them down was a number of unforced errors that gave Nigeria the upper hand. Thela said they still have some matches to play, but decried that their preparations ahead of the tournament were affected by financial constraints.

He, however said training in India helped them to keep Nigeria at bay, considering that the set margins were not as wide as in previous competitions.

"We were in India for 21 days just to improve the intensity of play for our players, because the game of badminton requires speed and control," he said. BOPA

BOPA

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