Badminton player seeks Olympic qualification

Nkosilathi Sibanda

LOCAL badminton sensation Thabani Mathe has embarked on an international tour as he sets his sights on qualifying for the Olympics and Badminton World Federation (BWF) Championships later this year.

The Olympics are set for Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11, while the World Championships are slated for August 21-27 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mathe (26) is confident that he will qualify for both events as he seeks to achieve a Top 100 world ranking and a top three position in Africa.

He is currently ranked 431st in the world, out of 2 000 players and 16th out of 80 players in the continental rankings.

“I started my international tournaments consistently from last year with a three-month training camp in Chengdu, China. I will participate in a minimum of 10 tournaments before the middle of 2024 and another 10 thereafter.

“I aim to participate in at least 20 tournaments. All this is in a bid to qualify for both the Summer Olympics in Paris and The Annual BWF World Championships towards the end of the year.

“I have toured quite a number of countries since the start of my career like Uganda, Algeria and Nigeria. I have also played in the Southern African countries that include Zambia, South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius. Outside the continent, China, The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are the only countries I have toured so far,” said Mathe.

Mathe started playing badminton at the age of 13 in Hatfield, Harare, where he played for Mazowe and Prince Edward High Schools.

“I played and excelled in as many sports codes both at primary and high school. I found a soft spot for badminton when I was 13 years and made it a career when I turned 16. At that stage, I had won a bronze medal at the All-Africa Schools Championship in Port Louis, Mauritius. After that, I added two more continental junior titles on my belt in South Africa in 2016,” said Mathe.

The Olympic aspirant said he is impressed by the growth of badminton in the country.

“Badminton is one of the fastest growing sport disciplines at the moment. As a country, we recently hosted the continental schools’ championships and that shows and brings the wealth of experience we possess and the growth we are exhibiting.

“With many stakeholders taking notice and more players touring and participating globally, only good things can come out of it in the future,” he said.