Garanganga serves up tennis gold

victory over Sherif Sabry of Egypt in the men’s singles final of the 10th All-Africa Games at the Tondouri Jardins courts yesterday.
Garanganga, a former African Junior Champion now playing on the professional circuit in the United States, overcame the loss of a set to send his opponent packing on a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 score.
The win by the 21-year-old Davis Cup star increased Team Zimbabwe’s golden haul to six as the multi-sporting showcase approaches its last 48 hours, and came hard on the heels of Robert Gwaze’s chess conquest on Thursday. Top swimmer Kirsty Coventry had famously bagged four gold medals for her country in the early stages of competition.
Garanganga went on to form a fruitful partnership with Mark Fynn in the doubles that yielded a bronze medal following their semi-final loss to the Madagascar pair of Jacob Rasolondrazana and Ando Rasolomalala.
National tennis coach Gwinyai Tongoona hailed his charges for a superb performance, reckoning they could even have done better had it not been for fatigue.
“I think the schedule was just too tight for my players. Takanyi featured in four matches in one day on Thursday and that he won his toughest match of the competition after that busy schedule just goes to show his level of determination,” said Tongoona, a former Davis Cup player himself.
“It is really a great achievement. He has been working very hard and you can see this by the change in his game in the last year or so. He deserves full credit for this gold medal.”
Earlier chess grandmaster Robert Gwaze had struck the first gold medal by a Zimbabwean male athlete at the 10th All Africa Games, outwitting South Africa’s Henry Steel in their final set-piece at CC Banco Hall in Maputo’s sister city of Matola on Thursday.
Gwaze’s superb craftsmanship on the board pushed Team Zimbabwe’s tally to five gold medals and kept them on course to equalling or surpassing the achievements recorded by the previous group that competed at the 2007 edition of the continent’s largest sporting showcase in Algeria.
It also silenced in good measure playful calls from the “Beijing” section in the team for their gender to form the entire complement of participants to the next 2015 All-Africa Games set for Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.
All 12 medals garnered by Zimbabwe after as many days of all-round competition had come from female sportspersons, including swimming icon Kirsty Coventry’s individual haul of five medals, four of them gold.
Charles Kuwaza, the Zimbabwe Chess Federation president, saluted Gwaze for bettering the class of 2007 which brought a silver medal from Algiers where the country’s grand total stood at 23.
“I knew this was coming. Gwaze was destined to get the gold medal as his moves and tactics were by far superior to all his opponents,” beamed Kuwaza in an interview with The Herald soon after confirmation of victory. From start of competititon, Gwaze, who flew into Maputo straight from a high-level tournament in Russia, was in a class of his own, accumulating 7,5 (seven and a half) points from his preliminary eight matches on the chessboard, which translated to 90 percent on the technical scorecard and was the highest tally among the 24 participating countries. According to the rules of the competition, he then had to face off with his runner-up to decide the top two medal placings and it was no big deal for the former Prince Edward schoolboy who went on check-mate the South African whizz-kid after a tense encounter that lasted six hours.

 

 

 

Garanganga and Fynn may not be finished just yet. Depending on their fitness they could feature in the Team Event, the last on the tennis programme which is played in Davis Cup format with one doubles and two singles encounters.
Both withdrew halfway into their semi-final tie against Madagascar in the afternoon with Garanganga citing fatigue while Fynn complained of a shoulder injury. Madagascar proceeded to the final of the event where they will meet Egypt.
Coach Tongoona said they would make an assessment on the duo’s fitness last night before deciding whether to take up the third-place play off against Nigeria this morning.
The total medal count for Team Zimbabwe by close of day yesterday stood at six gold, seven silver and two bronze.