adminformal kick off today despite the hosts running late in finalising facilities.
The 150-member Zimbabwean delegation, led by deputy chef de mission and Sports Commission director for sports development, Joseph Muchechetere, arrived in the Mozambican capital late Wednesday afternoon after a pleasant 1 hour, 20 minute flight from Harare aboard a chartered Air Zimbabwe B767-200 plane.
They were welcomed at Maputo International Airport by Custom Kachambwa, the chef de mission, who was already here as part of the advance delegation, plus staff of the Zimbabwe embassy all eager to see their country excel at Africa’s biggest sporting showcase whose sixth edition was hosted by Harare in 1995.
The large squad, alongside all other contingents from around the continent, is housed at the gigantic Athletes’ Village, adjacent the newly-constructed Olympic Stadium and Swimming Pool, 13km from the sprawling city centre, and quickly settled in their rooms after a brief address by team officials before serious training began Thursday morning.
Zimbabwe’s women basketball side, who flew into this vast coastal city direct from South Africa where they staged their pre-Games training camp, were first to taste action last night when they clashed against the hosts in Group A of their qualifying pool.
Team coach Ronald Garura, who is based in Johannesburg, also touched down separately at lunchtime Thursday to take command of his 12-member side who had trained in the morning under assistant coach Simeon Lawson.
Earlier, Lawson told The Herald that the girls were in perfect shape after their two-week camp in South Africa.
“We are raring to go. This is the second consecutive Games we are participating in after the previous edition in Algeria in 2007 and I can see the team is now brimming with confidence. We do not know much about our opponents but the girls are exhibiting tremendous flair that should cause enough trouble to their opponents,” said Lawson.
The towering Isobel Tengende is among the most experienced members of the basketball team and will be expected to provide inspiration to her teammates who include notable stars like Fadzai Mabasa, Dorcas Marondera and Alexandra Maseko.
Boxing also drew its curtains last night with the Masiyambumbi brothers Stephen and Foster, who fight in the light-welterweight and bantamweight divisions, and their middleweight compatriot Josphat Mufayi throwing their first blows.
Mpilisi Moyo, the boxers coach, took his charges for a run around the complex yesterday and later declared their readiness for the ring.
Boxing was another part of the squad that travelled on their own to Maputo, in order to acclimatise early to the searing heat of this seaside city.
Maputo has so far proved a welcoming host with the only glitch to the start of the Games being the incomplete state of most of the facilities.
Workmen are still toiling to put everything in place amid a shock announcement soon after Team Zimbabwe’s arrival at the airport that running water had not yet been connected to the Games Village.
Bertha Faranisi, who is Team Zimbabwe’s deputy chef de mission (administration), had to advise the athletes to collect as much bottled water as possible from the dining hall to use for sanitary purposes.
The water problem was eventually sorted out yesterday but not before two nights of horror for many of the athletes.
Coja officials, the organisers of Africa’s premier sporting festival, have evidently been overwhelmed by the huge number of team delegates present and have been unable to arrange shuttle transport on time.
It is a sorry sight to see hundreds of athletes in their different national colours milling impatiently at the gates, waiting for buses to ferry them either to the dining hall, which is a kilometre away from the village, or to their various training venues that, depending on the discipline, can also be a good distance away.
John Muringani, the Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union president, was bitter that work on their venue had still not finished a day before competition kicks off tomorrow.
“It is getting more and more doubtful that table tennis will kick-off on Sunday as was prescribed. The venue is still not complete and we could not even train there. We spent the whole day looking for a practice venue and only managed to get one that was make-shifted to resemble a table tennis arena but it’s not conducive as we need to familiarise with the actual competition venue,” complained Muringani.
The Main Press Centre, at the otherwise world-class Chinese-constructed stadium, also exists only in name as only desks and chairs occupy the room with no computers or internet-connection facilities yet available.
There is in fact nothing inside to suggest the room will at all be turned into anything other than a simple common room.
Compounding the confusion, the Portuguese-speaking Mozambican officials and thousands of volunteers can still be seen gathered in small pockets and engaged in endless briefings, suggesting not all might be well as the Games, which end on September 18, edge towards their official opening tomorrow.
Team Zimbabwe officials, however, seem unfazed with the hosts’ lethargic preparations and have vowed to improve on their previous achievements in 2007 by grabbing more than the 23 medals they won in Algeria.
Backstroke swimming expert Kirsty Coventry, who claimed seven of those medals – all gold in colour – is expected to be in similar devastating form once she arrives in Maputo from her base in South Africa.
The swimming competition gets underway next week and builders are still putting final touches to the pool and ancillary facilities.
Another strong medal hopeful is Ngonidzashe Makusha, a sprinter and long jumper, who will make his way to Maputo from Daegu, South Korea where he has been participating at his first World Athletics Championships.
Makusha will be accompanied from South Korea by fellow track and field athlete Thandiwe Nyathi and coaches Tendai Tagara and Adele Dube.
The cycling and tennis squads are expected to join the rest of the contingent in time for their events early next week.
Also looking forward to get the ball rolling are Rosemary Mugadza’s super-fit Mighty Warriors, who recently benefitted from a rare two-week training camp in Germany.
The female footballers, who are the most popular ensemble of the entire Zimbabwean contingent here, begin their campaign with a date against South Africa’s Banyanya Banyana on Tuesday and
have already started shaping up for the tie under the watch of Mugadza and technical adviser Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe.
Zimbabwe will all in all field 170 athletes in 17 disciplines that include athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, cycling, football, judo, karate, netball, sailing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon and sport for the disabled.
Online Reporter