Muhwati shooting for the sky

Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
AFTER the death of his father, Blessing Muhwati’s life took a turn as he realised his passion for squash after inheriting the equipment that his father used during his playing days.The 18-year-old is the current Zimbabwe Under-19 champion and has competed in several continental and international tournaments since he began his quest for success in the sport.

“I am a student at Prince Edward High School doing my final year. I am the Under-19 champion for squash. I started (playing squash) when I was 14. It was in 2009 after my father passed away and I inherited his squash stuff. It’s kind of a family thing. It took to about a year to take part in my first national level when I was about 15 years old. I had qualified for the Under-19s and that was in 2011 when I first went to play at the All-Africa Juniors in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“It was both a team and individuals event.  As a team, we came third and for individuals I was ranked 12. I continued competing in a lot of tournaments. I started going for the IPT (inter-provincial tournaments in South Africa). And I participated in the All-Africa tournament held in Zimbabwe in 2012 and it was the same result for the team event but this time I was in the top 10 in the individuals,’’ Muhwati said.

After getting a feel of the regional competitions more was to come for Muhwati.

“I went for the World Junior Championships in Qatar the same year and it was my first time to compete in such a big tournament which is one of the biggest events in the world and I was knocked out in the first round but the team came on position 20 out of 24 countries which was quite an achievement.

“I would say it doesn’t really make a difference but playing at an early age makes it better. When I began playing I was 14 and I used to lose, it was really difficult. I just want to try to be the best (player) in the country.

“Since I started playing it has given me a real reason to fight for my academics. I am looking at a long career in squash,” said Muhwati.
However,  just like many of the small sporting disciplines in the country such as swimming and tennis that have continued to suffer due to lack of sponsorship and local competitions, squash has not been spared from the same hurdles with only two major local tournaments – the Mashonaland Championships and the Zimbabwe Closed – being played every year.

“Our challenges mostly have been sponsorship but the thing is we don’t really play many competitions so we lack exposure. If we could play more tournaments we could be far much better,” Muhwati said.

Despite the challenges the national junior champion has not given up on his dream of pursuing the sport that he fell in love with from a tender age and with the support of his mother, Regina, he is determined to go all the way.

Early this year he had the opportunity of participating in the British Open which is regarded as the second prestigious juniors event after the world games.

“The British Junior Open is one of the biggest tournaments that have all age-groups. It also has scouts and I went there so that I can meet coaches from American universities. It was tough and since I had never played at such a big event, I had to play in the qualifiers. I progressed to the first round but I lost. My final position was 56 and currently I am ranked 56th in the world.

“It was an amazing feeling, it was great as you get to meet the elite squash players. Whilst I was there I also went to a school called Wycliffe, who are the current national school league champions in England, and got to train with them,” said Muhwati.

Muhwati feels there is still more that needs to be done for Zimbabwean players to match the level of competition from among the best.

“We would like to see a lot of young people playing especially in schools. The problem is most schools do not have coaches, we need to see more coaches, a lot of students and a lot of local tournaments. We normally play in the Mashonaland Championships and the Zimbabwe Closed tournament.

“I would say my brother, who was also a squash player in America and who is now coaching on a full-time basis, pushed me to say it’s in the genes. I also have an uncle who definitely supports me financially as well as my family and it’s really motivating.

“They really want to see me go far,” said Muhwati.

Muhwati is now hoping to make his second appearance at the World Junior Cup this year in August.