adminMharakurwa, the 2012 Annual National Sports Awards Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability winner said the country had a number of talented athletes living with disabilities whose talents and dreams of competing at international level were going down the drain.
The Zimbabwean ace’s career highlight was saw competing at the August London 2012 Paralympic Games after getting a wild card entry.
The International Tennis Federation in June picked the Zimbabwean wheelchair tennis ace after he failed to take part in the required number of international matches due to lack of resources
In the build up to the London Paralympics, Mharakurwa, despite not having been involved in any international matches, was ranked third in Africa behind South Africa’s duo of Sydwell Mathonsi and Desmond Mosimane.
“I am not trying to be apologetic for my poor performances at the Paralympics but the truth of the matter is that had I had adequate preparations and participated in a number of international competitions, I would have done better.
“These preparations need money and that is why I am saying talent alone without funding, one cannot go anywhere in as far as winning international tournaments is concerned.
“I have had a number of challenges in my playing career and I know that there are a number of people like me who are talented and are in dire need of corporate assistance. I therefore challenge sporting bodies and the corporate sector to work together and support sport for people living with disabilities in the coming year,” Mharakurwa said.
The former University of Johannesburg student noted that most companies and individuals only wanted to come in and be visible during celebration times but did not want to help in terms of preparing athletes for events.
A notable example of the corporate world shunning people with disabilities is that of Mharakurwa who failed to get funds to enable him to compete in overseas tournaments that were qualifiers for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
At one time he was Africa’s top ranked player but due to lack of participation at the ITF recognised tournaments, he went down on the rankings table.
Mharakurwa’s brilliance on the tennis court saw him getting a scholarship at the University of Johannesburg and during his spare time he coaches upcoming wheelchair tennis players around Gauteng Province.
“We can copy a number of things from South Africa. The corporate world supports sport big time with banks, mobile phone networks and other institutions taking the lead.
“The future looks bright and the fact that we had the likes of budding Bulawayo’s wheelchair tennis player Sheppard Banda going for a tour in France where he competed at the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters — Les Petits As 2012 last January is testimony to that.
“Such talent cannot be ignored and that is why there is need to assist such players to enable them to participate at regional events to prepare for the future,” Mharakurwa said.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) had invited Banda, the 16-year-old King George Memorial player after seeing him play at the 2011 World Team Championships in South Africa.
Mharakurwa is the country’s ambassador for ITF wheelchair tennis.
Online Reporter