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Express News Service
CHENNAI: As Zimbabwe prepares to hold a historic Presidential Election on July 30 – its first without former leader Robert Mugabe nearly four decades after the US 's election. independence – a nationwide liquidity problem affects all sectors in the country. The sport is one of them.
A few days ago, the Pakistan cricket team that was in the country for a five-game ODI game got a glimpse of what's really going on. Their departure from Harare for a match in Bulawayo was delayed after Zimbabwe Cricket failed to book them a hotel due to lack of money. Although the situation has been resolved in a few days, it is something that bothers the African nation that considers sport as an important part of their culture.
While football is their most popular sport, cricket is also considered important. And if these two sports are fighting for funds, one can imagine the status of less popular sports like squash. "Although we have a squash association in Zimbabwe, there is no funding and all the children are here with their own money, all of our players come from well-to-do families." Muhwati Blessing, who is the manager of Junior team, told Express on the sidelines of the opening day of the WSF Junior World Squash Championship.
While the lack of money takes a toll on all sports in Zimbabwe, the general attitude of young people towards the adoption of sport as a career is what is the most worrying Blessing. For a nation that has produced athletes like Kirsty Coventry – a swimmer with seven Olympic medals in her name – this new trend is a shame. "Most kids play in schools because they have a lot of benefits, like good jackets and other accessories, and they boast of the different countries with which they travel with their friends. That's why most young people are playing sports in Zimbabwe these days. To be honest, no one actually does profession. For most of them, it's a way to get scholarships to study abroad. Another reason they do not choose it as a career is because there is a lot less money involved, "said Blessing.
But despite all the problems, Blessing and Co managed to come to India in the hope of improving their Junior Worlds in Poland in 2016, where they finished second in the last. "In Zimbabwe, squash is not so big. But we must try. We have a good system at school now. And the kids here want to earn rather than make money. This is a positive start, "he added.
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