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Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Defence Forces’ HQ 1 Brigade beat their Botswana counterparts 2-0 in a non-commissioned members’ football match played at Francistown Technical College on Saturday.
The Botswana Defence Forces (BDF) was represented by Two Infantry Brigade.
Using the bulk of Indlovu Iyanyathela players who ply their trade in the Southern Region Division One League, HQ 1 Brigade got their goals from Alfred Mehlomakhulu and Collin Tshuma.
The bilateral games are meant to foster relations between ZDF and BDF through sport and the two brigades competed in soccer, netball, volleyball, volleyball and 10km endurance exercises.
HQ 1 Brigade continued with their dominance in endurance exercises where their 16 troops, 14 men and four women, covered a 10km track, with each carrying 10kgs on their backs in 68 minutes.
The Botswana team crossed the finishing point 12 minutes later.
However, HQ 1 Brigade didn’t enjoy the same success in netball, basketball and volleyball, as they did in endurance and soccer.
They lost 22-32 in netball, went down 36-42 in basketball and were defeated 3-0 in volleyball.
Commander 1 Brigade, Brigadier General Augustine Chipwere, commended his troops and said the bilateral games had strengthened relations between the two brigades, which cover the Zimbabwe-Botswana borders.
“The bilateral games provide a platform for our troops to interact and share ideas on a more personal level. These are not about winning that’s why there are no medals, but they are meant to keep soldiers fit as well as to get to know each other since we protect the same area and we don’t want to see each other as strangers during our operations.
“We’re happy that we did well in endurance, having worked hard in the build-up to the games. This was the first time for us to include women in the teams and I think it all went well,” said Chipwere.
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