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Minister Makhosini Hlongwane

Tedious Manyepo, Harare Bureau
SPORTS Minister Makhosini Hlongwane has hailed the five wrestlers who brought home eight medals from the African Belt Championships held in Cape Town, South Africa, recently.

Zimbabwe was represented at the tournament for the first time.

But, despite all being Belt Wrestling greenhorns, the quintet punched well above their weight in the different categories and styles they contested in.

“I would like to extend my most profound congratulations to you. I am extremely happy as the Minister of Sport that you have managed to bring home the eight medals.

“This is quite some good piece of work,” said Hlongwane.

He urged the Zimbabwe Wrestling Federation to procedurally get clearance from the Sport and Recreation Commission whenever they are to participate in international assignments.

The ZWF did not get clearance from the country’s supreme sports board resulting in them failing to get any form of sponsorship both from the Government, as well as corporates, and they ended up digging deep into their own pockets to make the trip.

The five fighters grabbed two gold, three silver and as many bronze medals.

Young Paddington Mashaire snatched a pair of silver medals in both the Kazakh Kuresi and Turkmen Goresh styles while Munyaradzi Chitsa won a fourth bronze in the Under 75kg category of the Kazakh Kuresi.

Titus Chinjekure, who fought in the same category with Chitsa, was the overall winner in both the Khazakh Kuresi and Turkmen Goresh styles.

Herbert Mururi weighed in with a third bronze Khazakh Kuresi open weight category as well as a silver medal in Turkmen Goresh with Musah Mapfungautsi completing the haul after winning a fourth bronze in the Under 75kg section.

A total of 10 Southern African countries participated at the event.