Jani still rules the netball roost

Veronica Gwaze

SHE might have retired from international netball but former Zimbabwe Goal Shooter Pauline Jani’s record is still unmatched on the domestic front.

Three years after she hung her Gems bib and ordinarily expected to be slowing down and winding up her career at ZRP Mambas, Jani has continued to set new local records.

The towering shooter broke an all-time record, banging 1 065 goals in 32 outings at the just-ended Rainbow Netball Amateur League (RANL), where Mambas finished as runners-up to favourites and champions Glow Petroleum Queens.

For her exploits, the 32-year-old grabbed her second successive Golden Hand award in the Glow Petroleum-sponsored league.

She beat into second place Glow Petroleum’s Christine Kadandara, who boasts 823 goals, and is ahead of third-placed Moud Chisoro of Correctional Queens, who has 768.

Jani was, last year, also crowned the Golden Hand for the RANL Dry Season Tournament.

“I never thought such a moment would come. You know, after retirement from the international scene, everyone assumes you are down and out.

“At some point, it affected me emotionally, but I believe God still had plans for me and, somehow, the zeal in me was renewed,” Jani said.

Jani, who hails from a poor background, counts herself lucky to have made it this far in life.

In 2019, she was part of the Gems squad that left a mark in their maiden Netball World Cup appearance in Liverpool, when they finished the global tournament in position eight.

Soon after the marvellous showcase, skipper Perpetua Siyachitema, Rudo Karume and Jani hung their bibs.

Jani’s formative years evoke emotions in her.

From being orphaned at a tender age, she, at some point, together with her only sibling Mike, lived in an old disused vehicle in a car park in Masvingo.

She even tasted life as a vendor, selling freezits in Masvingo town, before she got a chance to step on the netball court and turn her life around.

Those sad moments still get Jani very emotional. She even shed tears as she remembered her upbringing and the struggles she had to endure, alongside her brother.

“We have been through a lot; we lost everything at the time we needed parental love and guidance, but netball became my messiah . . . This year, it is all for my brother. He has been through hell; he deserves more and he is the reason I push hard every day.”

Apart from netball, Jani is a constable in the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

The need to look after her brother has been the main inspiration behind her netball comeback tale.

However, the return to the court has also not been easy either, as Jani had to put up with more hours of training in order to keep pace with the demands of the game.

The former Pamushana High School and Gaths Mine player set a target of 90 goals per game.

“I told myself that everything was in my mind, so I needed to develop a positive mind first if anything was going to work out for me.

“My mother died too soon. I would have wanted to see her smiling from the sidelines one day. The only person I have in my life is my brother; I will do it for him.

“My brother is now under my care. Netball is basically all I know in my life, so I put my best act each time I step on the court,” Jani said.