- Botswana lost all games, year long inactivity contributed to the results
BONGANI MALUNGA
Botswana Hockey Association president Unaswi Matebu has drawn positives from Botswana’s difficult campaign in the 2021 Africa Indoor Cup in Durban, South Africa. The tri-nations tournament included South Africa and Namibia as well, Botswana’s southern African rivals went on to qualify for next year’s Indoor World Cup in Liege, Belgium.
South Africa won the men’s category while Namibia won the women’s category. Botswana’s men and women’s teams lost all their games in the tournament and they also
did not manage to score but they managed to get bronze medals for partaking in the competition. Following a year long spell of inactivity Botswana struggled to keep up with their rivals but Matebu praised the local teams for their efforts.
“Despite losing all our games, the tournament served us good practice and we learned from our mistakes. For us to dream of a World Cup berth, we have to compete with the best in the world. A long spell of no action contributed to our losses however I salute the players, the technical and management team for their unwavering dedication to representing Botswana,” said Matebu in a statement released by the local hockey association.
The Botswana Hockey Association online platforms also published the head coach Thabatshe Mogorosi’s remarks in which the coach said; “The games were tough we played (against) the best teams in Africa both of whom have played at the World Cup. This was our first time attending this tournament and I must say our teams played very well and to their level best.”