20 Jun 2024

Two Botswana wrestlers, Kelebogile Basupi and Jeffias Kulube are in Dakar, Senegal to compete in the Senior African Beach Wrestling Championships billed for June 22-23.

The duo left for Dakar on Wednesday for the competition which is expected to feature participants from 32 African countries.

Basupi, who is making her debut at international stage, would represent Botswana in the women’s senior category.

In an interview, Basupi said she would use the championships to learn from her peers and gain experience.

She said she started wrestling early this year and had been under intensive training to sharpen her skills and therefore ready for the competition.

“I am not under pressure. I am just going to do my best and enjoy my game and the rest would follow. The countries that we will be competing against are a closed book. We saw countries such as Egypt, Namibia,Lesotho and South Africa and we have competed with, but looking at them in different social platforms, I think we can match them,” she said.

Kulube, who will be competing in the 80kg category, also expressed her readiness for the competition despite some challenges.

For his part, Botswana Wresting Federation (BWF) founder, Moagi Sharp thanked United World Wrestling for assisting them with flight tickets, accommodation and meals for the two wrestlers and coach for the four days the team would be in Dakar.

Meanwhile, according to the rules, each athlete would be ranked in their group based on the number of victories.

In case of a tie in the group (same number of victories), if it concerned only two wrestlers, their direct match would determine the ranking. Ends