Independence brought sporting opportunities for born frees

12 Apr, 2015 - 00:04 0 Views

The Sunday News

IT was a dawn for a new era when Zimbabwe finally gained self-rule in 1980.
Independence from colonial bondage ushered in many opportunities to the people of this nation, opportunities that had previously been available to a few selected people due to the Rhodesian imbroglio.
The Zimbabwe’s sporting fraternity buoyed by the advantage of self rule has gone on to produce several sporting stars that were born after independence.
These include:

Tatenda Taibu
Former Zimbabwe cricket captain and wicketkeeper, Tatenda Taibu. Taibu is one of the most talented players to emerge in sport after 1980, joining numerous other “born frees” who have excelled in different sporting disciplines.

While the sport was prior to independence a preserve of players of colour, Taibu seized the opportunity and managed to hold his own. He subsequently earned himself a promotion to become the youngest Test captain in the history of the sport at 20 years of age when he captained Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in 2004.

Born in 1983, Taibu made his first-class debut at a tender age of 16, and made his debut for the national team in 2001 at 18. In 2003, he was appointed vice-captain to Heath Streak during the cricket team’s tour of England.

He took a two-year break for Zimbabwe from 2005 to 2007 when he was the captain of Namibia for a season, and later for the Cape Cobras in South Africa for another season.

He made his return to the Zimbabwean side in a series against India A in July 2007, registering a century. The following month Zimbabwe hosted South Africa for a three-game ODI series and in the final game Taibu scored a career best 107 not out. It was the first ODI century by a Zimbabwean against South Africa.

When Zimbabwe returned to Test cricket in 2011, Taibu was selected to play in their one-off Tests against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Taibu called time on his career in July 2012. During a short but illustrious event, Taibu scored 1 546 runs, 57 catches and five stumpings in Test matches, while making 3 393 runs in ODIs with 114 catches and 33 stumpings.He finished as Zimbabwe’s fourth highest run-scorer in ODIs with the second most number of dismissals as a wicketkeeper, behind Andy Flower.

Kirsty Coventry
Popularly known as the golden girl for her emphatic showing at various editions of the Olympics, where she managed to win gold medals, Coventry has shone in swimming and managed to set world records in various categories.

Born after independence in 1983, Coventry attained a scholarship to Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States where she perfected her swimming and was able to conquer the swimming world.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, she won three Olympic medals: a gold, a silver, and a bronze, while at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she won four medals: a gold and three silver.

She was feted by the iconic President Robert Mugabe who fittingly christened her “our golden girl.” President Mugabe presented her US$100 000 in cash for her 2008 Olympic feats.

Coventry broke her first world record in the 200m backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix in 2008. She bettered the mark, set by Krisztina Egerszegi in August 1991, the second oldest swimming world record. Her new record was 2:06:39. She continued her winning streak at the meet by winning the 100 m backstroke and the 200 m individual medley.

Coventry is the third woman in history to break the 1:00 minute barrier in the 100 m backstroke, and the second to break the 59-second barrier.

Takanyi Garanganga
Another Born Free Born in Mbare in 1990, Garanganga started playing tennis at the age of eight and is the currently the top-ranked player from Zimbabwe.

Garanganga’s first taste of success and show of promise came at the age of 14 when he won the African Junior Championship.
This success sparked the interest of Zimbabwean coach Brian de Villiers, who took Garanganga to the United States. After a career on the junior circuit and graduating from high school at Keystone National High School in 2008, Garanganga turned down offers to play collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois to focus on a professional career, which has however been hampered by lack of funding.

Garanganga has primarily spent his time on the Futures circuit, while also playing at ATP World Tour qualifying tournaments. He began playing on the tour in 2008, competing in tournaments in the United States and Africa. He is also part of Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup team.

His most notable tournament success was winning the gold medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique in the Men’s Singles’ category.

Kudakwashe Mahachi
Football is a sport that has always been dominated by black people in the country and there are several stars that have emerged since majority rule in 1980.

Mahachi, born in 1993, is among several stars that have emerged recently in the country’s most popular sport and managed to capture the nation with his fresh brand of football.

The fact that rumours were swirling that he would be moving to either Highlanders or Dynamos after he had been signed up by South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns at the beginning of 2014 was a testimony of how much in demand the young player was in.

A good showing by the midfielder at African Nations Championships in early 2014 proved to be a turning point as it led to his move to South Africa. However, to show his potential, Mahachi was invited for trials by French Ligue 1 side, Monaco and the only reason the move failed to materialize was reportedly because of huge demands from Sundowns.

Nkembe as Mahachi is popularly known started his football career at Highlanders as a junior but was then snapped up by Bantu Rovers, who later loaned him to Chicken Inn FC. He was featured among the country’s top soccer stars, two years in a row in 2012 and 2013. He had a six month stint with Highlanders before moving to South Africa last year.

His sublime dribbling skills on the ball coupled with speed and a powerful shot have made him one of the top players in the land. He is a regular among the national team players.

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