Mharakurwa fails to qualify for London Games

Mharakurwa is ranked 75th in the world and third in Africa with 294 points from eight competitions.
According to the latest International Tennis Federation’s Wheelchair Tennis rankings, South Africa’s duo of Eliphas Maripa and Sydwell Mathonsi who are first and second in Africa are in the running for the London Games.

Maripa who has participated in 22 tournaments is on position 33 in the world having amassed 665 points while his countryman Mathonsi is on position 41 with 564 points from 20 competitions.

Players that will be in the top 46 on Monday will get an automatic ticket for this year’s London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Mharakurwa’s gaffer Petros Ndlovu said lack of resources to enable the Zimbabwean wheelchair tennis ace to take part in many competitions cost him a ticket to London.

“If you look at the ranking he could have done better had he competed at more events. A year ago Nyasha was ranked better than the South Africans but because he did not have funds to travel around the world and play at the qualifiers, he failed to make it for London Games.

“I believe the worst enemy for our talented athletes with disabilities is lack of resources to enable them to participate at major competitions,” said Ndlovu.

Mharakurwa who two years ago was the continent’s top player will now have to bank on the wild card to be among Zimbabwe’s representatives at the prestigious event.

The wild card is whereby a country is  given certain slots to field players who will have failed to get automatic entry to the Games.

In the last Paralympic Games that were held in Beijing in 2008, Molene Muza and track star Elliot Mujaji participated as wild card entries.

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