Africa-Press – Malawi. The gods continued smiling on mother Malawi yesterday at the African Union Region 5 Games in Namibia with three gold medals in the bag, bringing the total of top finishes to six.
Malawi’s first gold medal of the day came through Byson Maseko who clocked 24.40 in the T13 200 metres (m) race.
Nathan Chisale then followed up with another gold medal in the 5,000m contest, clocking 15:12:90.
This was Chisale’s second medal after he lifted silver in the 3,000m race earlier in the week.
The third gold medal for Malawi came from Nancy Verani in the Special Olympics 200m women’s category while Tiyanjane Henry lifted silver in the same contest.
Malawi Paralympic Committee president James Chiutsi said the athletes’ success is a fruit of their five-year development plan.
“We are very happy and excited with these results. This is a clear sign of the success of our five-year athlete development plan. It is our wish to keep developing and producing more athletes. We really need to work hard since most of our athletes are ageing. So there must be deliberate efforts to replace them through grooming youngsters,” Chiutsi said.
Meanwhile, two Malawi Under-20 National Football Team players have been named in the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship Best XI after lighting up the group stages with their standout performances.
The players are attacker Mwisho Mhango and defender Precious Manjawira.
The development came ahead of Malawi’s semifinal match against Zambia today.
Mhango has three goals at the regional competition with two man of the match awards, and was instrumental in helping Malawi to qualify for the last four after 11 years of waiting.
The youngster said he feels honoured with the inclusion.
“This is a big motivation to me ahead of the Zambia tie. It is an honour to me and all Malawians. This is really incredible. I never saw it coming. The recognition has energized me for the Zambia match,” he said.
Malawi coach Milias Pofera said the recognition of the two players is a big motivation for today’s match.
“This is a game we want to win. We need to play with our lungs out. It is a very difficult match against one of the best teams at the tournament. I am happy for both players and this is also a result of team work,” Pofera said.
Malawi play Zambia at 3pm with South Africa taking on Angola in an earlier encounter.
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