Zim wrestling sensationally overlooked

Mudzei Chungwere

Zimbabwe Wrestling Federation has cried foul after they were sensationally excluded from the team of athletes that is representing the country at the ongoing 12th edition of the African games in Rabat, Morocco.

Zimbabwe sent athletes from several sporting disciplines and the country’s wrestlers were expected to be part of the cast but are not at the games in North Africa.

The association’s president, Tapiwa Masinire said they were told by the authorities that they could not be included because in their team no one had the potential to win a medal.

“We were left behind, and the official position they gave for not including wrestling in the team is that we do not have medal hopefuls,” he said.

“It is painful that we are operating in very difficult conditions and most of the players were using their own resources to prepare for tournaments.

“The players were in camp for several months in preparation for the African games, only to be told a few days before that we cannot travel with the team because we do not have medal hopefuls.

“We had to call off camp after the news, and my heart is bleeding for the players, it also put us as their executive on a tight spot. How do we motivate players after this?

“The other painful thing is that how do you say we are not medal hopefuls if we have not played in the competition in question,” said Masinire.

The latest setback comes at a time the wrestling association was building the sport, and having come with several initiatives such as introducing the game at schools.