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Nelias Shiri
Zimbabwe successfully hosted the 15th World Military Golf Championship from June 17 to 22 at the picturesque Elephant Hills Golf Resort in Victoria Falls.
The resort town of Victoria Falls became a hive of golfing activity as participants from 14 countries; Botswana, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kingdom of Bahrain, Latvia, Namibia, Netherlands, Spain, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe battled for honours.
The tournament ran under the theme “Promoting Friendship through Sport”. The hosting of the event was an endorsement of Zimbabwe as a safe tourist destination. The 15th World Military Golf Championship was competitive with the major highlight being the striking of a hole-in-one by three golfers, including one female participant, a rare feat in the past tournaments. Prior to this year’s championship, there had only been four-hole-in-ones in CISM competitions.
Sergeant Valine Duma of Kenya Defence Force (KDF) opened the floodgates with her ace in hole number two, the first ever by a woman competitor.
Crooker of Germany aced the fifth hole, a feat which was also achieved later by the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Second Lieutenant Khalifa Alikaabi who dunked his tee shot on the 11th hole.
CISM secretary general, Navy Captain Roberto Recchia of Italy expressed his gratitude for CISM’s breakthrough in the history of golf worldwide. He commended the tournament for fostering military friendships through sport.
“The three hole-in-ones is a huge milestone in the history of CISM because this is very rare in the history of golf. Since the inception of the international military golf championship, men only aced hole-in-one. CISM has made history through Sgt Duma, a woman who aced a hole-in-one for the first time in the history of the tournament. I want to applaud the spirit of sponsorship, comradeship, solidarity and mutual respect that was displayed by the participants,” said Navy Captain Recchia.
The defending ladies’ individual champion Private Pauline Stein of France was on cloud nine as she dominated the course and secured her second consecutive title. Captain Maudo Fouquet joined her on the podium with a silver medal and Canadian Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Jones got bronze.
“I am really excited to defend my championship in this scenic Victoria Falls. Yes, the competition seemed to be tough on the tee-off day, but I managed to adjust to the situation. I would like to thank CISM, Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and the Government for a warm welcome and hospitality in the furtherance of CISM’s motto of enhancing friendship through sport,” Pvt Stein said.
The men’s category saw fierce competition with Germany clinching gold, Canada and Bahrain taking silver and bronze, respectively. The women’s category, however, witnessed significant changes on the winners’ podium. France made a routine win, followed by the host nation, Zimbabwe while Tanzania clinched bronze.
Meanwhile, the Commander ZDF, General Philip Valerio Sibanda expressed pleasure in hosting the international event and unity of purpose that prevailed throughout the tournament.
“Today you stand surrounded by old and new friends, whom you met through playing golf at this championship and this is what the CISM seeks to promote. Sports, particularly team sports, engender purposeful and meaningful social relationships and promote espirit de corps which is critical in our day to day activities as military personnel,” General Sibanda remarked.
CISM is an international sports association established in 1948 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The association has 140 members across the globe. Zimbabwe joined the military sports organisation in 1993. The hosting of the championships rotates among the member nations and the next tournament will be held in Kenya in 2025.
Online Reporter