Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwean sports landscape had some feel-good stories at the weekend following success in cricket, golf and motocross.
Warriors star, Marvelous Nakamba, also provided football with a good story after one of his best performances for Aston Villa in the English Premiership.
With sport slowly coming out of the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were a number of international events, involving Zimbabwean teams, and athletes.
The best news came from Botswana, where the Lady Chevrons raised the flag high, by winning the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier.
It guaranteed them the ticket to the global qualifier set for next year.
The global qualifier is the final qualifying tournament, for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The Chevrons put the icing on the cake on a fine weekend for cricket when they beat Scotland by six wickets.
The victory secured a rare away series triumph for the Chevrons.
In golf, Scott Vincent continued with his rise to the top as he captured his second win on the Japan Golf Tour.
Vincent lifted the ANA Open at Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course in Hakkaido, Japan, with a comfortable three-shot victory.
He pocketed approximately US$181 000.
This was Vincent’s second title in the 2021 Japan Golf Tour.
Zimbabwe junior motocross champion rider, Emmanuel Bako, secured a podium finish, when he came home second, in the 85cc Pro-Mini Class during the fifth round of the 2021 South African National Championship series at Chestnut Hill.
Bako fought hard in a strong field of 15 riders which was eventually won by South African, Neil van der Vyver.
But, second place was worth celebrating considering the level of motocross competition in South Africa.
Next stop for Bako is this weekend’s annual North vs South Championship in Bloemfontein.
The North vs South is one of the biggest regional motocross events in South Africa.
Bako (14) has been chosen to represent the Gauteng Province and he will team up with some of that country’s top male and female junior and senior riders, this coming Saturday.
Bako has been presented with his traditional No 21 in Team Gauteng and he will be the only rider from Zimbabwe who will be taking at this event.
This Saturday will also see a number of the country’s top senior male and female triathletes making their way to Nyanga, in the Eastern Highlands, for the Bonaqua African Triathlon Cup Troutbeck.
The event features strong elite men and women line-ups, who are keen to rack up crucial Olympics Qualifying points, for the Paris Olympics, scheduled for July to August 2024.
The elite field is expected to be the drawcard as usual, although the number of international athletes coming to Zimbabwe seems to have decreased marginally, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Bonaqua African Triathlon Cup offers World Ranking points for elite athletes, within the ITU ranking system.
The points scored by elite athletes will ultimately become Olympic Ranking Qualification points for Paris 2024.
Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited bottles Bonaqua Water.
Other partners who are supporting the event include Bon Marche, Cimas, Rooneys and Toyota Zimbabwe.