The ManicaPost
Fungayi Munyoro : Sports Correspondent
TEAM Manicaland scooped 10 medals at the just-ended Commissioner General Annual Sports Gala held at Morris Depot in Harare last week. A total of 17 teams from all over the country participated in various sporting disciplines that included netball, soccer, darts, cricket, lawn tennis, volleyball, pool, First Aid, golf, Athletics, chess and table tennis.
In netball, the matches were played on round robin basis. Manicaland ladies won eight out of 16 games and lost eight matches.
In soccer, the teams were put into groups and Manicaland were in the group that comprised of Matabeleland South, Traffic and Harare. They played three games in group stages and progressed to the quarter-finals where they lost 0-4 to Support Unit. In women soccer, the team lost to Morris Depot 4-0.
In swimming, the team bagged three bronze medals in female relay, breast stroke and best coach.
The ladies pool team won bronze in the ladies singles, while the ladies darts team won two bronze medals in ladies’ singles and double closed.
In the men’s category, Chipinge-based Salesio Gunda who is also in the provincial team won a silver medal in the open singles after losing to veteran player, Caleb ‘Siga’ Sigauke. Gunda also won a bronze medal in the closed singles.
Caleb Sigauke managed to win gold in the open singles before winning gold in the open doubles with Salesio Gunda.
In body building, Tafadzwa Mikiya bagged a gold medal in the heavyweight category.
Speaking at the welcome back ceremony held at Main Camp on Tuesday morning, provincial sports director, Samson Napulu, congratulated the team for a job well done though he said there was room for improvement.
He also said they would soon be preparing for the ZRP SUPCO Regional Games to be held in April next year.
“Our men and women who participated in Harare did not disappoint. They did so well. Last year we were number 17 out of 17 teams, but this time we came on the 13th position which is a significant move.
We set a target, however, we failed to meet it, but as a province we are so happy even for the medals that we won.
I think the other thing which limited us was time for preparations. We did not have much time to prepare due to work commitments.
We will also start to prepare for the SUPCO Games to be held in Harare in April next year. We hope that some of our participants will be selected to represent the country in various sporting disciplines, “he said.
Guest of honour, Assistant Commissioner (administration) Kenny Mtombeni also encouraged the team to continue working hard and to maintain its discipline and commitment in all sporting disciplines.
