adminFungayi Munyoro Sports Correspondent
SHE is full of confidence and is that kind of a player who plays a key role. She has achieved a lot in the world of darts and yet has remained humble. Meet the Manicaland and Zimbabwe’s top female darts player. Although her team, Buffaloes did not win gold at the just-ended Champions of Champions Darts Competiton, Melody Gezana put up a superb performance to prove why she is rated the province’s and national team’s number one player.
Born on April 16, 1980 in Mutare, Gezana is one of the most talented darts female players to emerge in the country. She attended Dangare Primary School in Sakubva from 1987 to 1993 before enrolling at St Joseph’s for her secondary education in 1994.
After high school, she went to Mutare Poly where she studied Tourism and Hospitality. She then got a job at Bronte Hotel, but resigned in 2009 to take darts playing seriously.
“I did not grow up playing darts. I just started in 2009. My uncle, Francis Mawadza is the one who introduced me to the game and grew to love the game also did not struggle to fit in,” she said.
The same year she started playing darts, Gezana had a privilege to represent the province at Kushinga in Marondera and impressed before making her international debut the same year.
She travelled with the national team to Lesotho for the Zone Six games. “We represented the province and that was my first time together with Delyn Jayne. I also qualified for the national team trials in 2010 and since then I have been the national team top player,” she said.
As a player, Gezana has represented her club, Manicaland and Zimbabwe and have won several accolades. In 2010, she came first in Lesotho in the Zone Six open singles. In 2011 she was the only female player in the team which travelled to Orkney, South Africa for the Inter Mines National Team Qualifiers.
In 2012, she came first again in the open singles in Orkney. She also won gold medals both in open and closed singles during the Easter Darts Tournament held in Bulawayo.
Gezana helped the national team in the RBZ Zone Six Games where Zimbabwe scooped masters for the first time. She also scooped a gold medal.
This is one of the games she cannot easily forget. “I will not forget this game. We dominated as a nation and beating South Africa and their top female player who had been on top since 2010 was great,” she chuckled.
She narrated some of the challenges that she has faced in her journey to the top. “My mother never liked it when I resigned from my job to take up darts. She was so angry with me and at times she would not even greet me,” she laughed.
Gezana’s mother never believed that her daughter would make a living out of darts.
“I was so angry when she told me that she had decided to quit her high paying job for darts. I thought she was insane. Sometimes I would not take a good morning from her. I started supporting her after realising that she was bringing home a lot of accolades and cash prizes. I am now her number one supporter,” she said.
Asked what her worst game was like, she chuckled.
“I cannot point out at a particular game, but I would say the whole of last season. I had my first son. I was limited when it comes to training sessions and sometimes I would go for matches without preparing. Now at least I can strike a balance.
I always wake up in the morning and feed my baby, then go for my training sessions. Sometimes I go with my twin sister to take care of him (Donell).Now that he is a bit grown up, he is no longer a challenge and hardly disturbs me. I guess he has a bit of understanding of the game,” she smiled.
Gezana urged darts players in Manicaland to be united. Her dream is to be on top of the world and to uplift other female players in the province. “We need to support each other as players. We need to be united as a province and we are getting there as province.
We have some youngsters who are doing very well and the sport of darts is also a developing sport at schools. My dream is to be the best player and get recognition from the whole world. I also want to uplift other female players in Manicaland,” she said.
“If you like the game you will go far,” those were the last words of the country’s top female star.
Online Reporter