daniel chigunwe
Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S Sarah Bennett and Kays Kanyangarara have been appointed technical officials for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Tuesday confirmed the names of the technical delegates, technical officials, umpires managers, umpires and medical officers who have been appointed to next year’s Olympic Games.
And Zimbabwe’s pair of Bennett and Kanyangarara are among the technical officials that will grace the Games.
Bennett, who is the only female from Africa that have been appointed technical official expressed her excitement and gratitude.
“To be able to represent FIH, Africa and Zimbabwe as a whole at this prestigious tournament is an absolute honour.
“Achievements like this only come with hard work, dedication and commitment. There are many hours of learning, tears and emotions.
“It’s all part of the journey. The support of my family, friends, my employers Ariel School, where I am deputy headmistress and my hockey family make these achievements possible. ‘The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice.’ — Brian Herbert.
“It’s my hope that my successes at various levels will inspire the next generation to strive and follow their dreams,” said Bennett.
Bennett, who is also Hockey Association of Zimbabwe secretary general, made another milestone at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when she was appointed a judge for the Men’s Gold Medal match between Australia and Belgium.
As she awaits her return to the Olympics, she is set to attend a couple of tournaments including the Olympic Qualifiers in Pretoria, South Africa from October 29 to November 5.
“I have a couple of tournaments coming up towards the end of this year which will assist with my preparations.
“I am the technical director at the FIH Hockey5s in Egypt as well as the technical director for the Road to Paris Qualifiers in Pretoria at the end of October. These internationals will be key in my preparations.
“Mental and emotional preparations will also be key as a tournament of this magnitude can be very overwhelming and comes with its own pressures,” said Bennett.
Kanyangarara said getting such recognition is an honour.
“It’s a great honour for any sportsperson. Going to the Olympics I think it’s any sportsperson’s dream, and even though it’s not going as a player but even just as a technical official that in itself is a milestone.
“And I think it bodes well for us as a nation because obviously when we are going we are representing our country and you are counted amongst the elite. So it’s good and just shows that we as Zimbabwe have the capacity to match the standards at any level.
“So I think it’s such a huge recognition. And more so this is the first time I think where we have had, or in a long time, where we have had even two Zimbabweans at the same time because normally it’s like one or the other,” said Kanyangarara.
For the technical officials there are only three from Africa — Bennett, Kanyangarara and Ghana’s Frank Oti-Mensah.
“Personally it is my intention to be able to encourage, to inspire upcoming officials not to give up to continue working. And that you can get recognised even though maybe as our teams we may not necessarily be qualifying, but there are other routes that we can use even to just put our country on the map,” said Kanyangarara.
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