Sports

I’ll bounce back, says Lekhooa

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2022

Tlalane PhahlaMASERU – ’MALEHLOA Lekhooa’s loss of the Nedbank Mohokare Golf Classic crown to Rethabile Liphalana over the weekend has done little to erase her past successes.
The Nedbank Mohokare Golf Classic made its comeback last weekend after a two year hiatus.

Liphalana took the crown from Lekhooa, who won the tournament in 2019 and held it since.
But for Lekhooa, who was not originally a golf fan, the journey continues.
Her journey in golf started 20 years ago by accident. Lekhooa was passing through a golf course in Maseru when she saw a group of people gathered around playing.
She had no idea what was going on but curiosity got the better of her and she joined the onlookers.

“After a little while we were challenged to try and I was among the first who accepted the challenge and that was it,” she said. “I became hooked for life.”
Perhaps it is not surprising that she fell in love with golf. After all, Lekhooa, who has three siblings, two brothers and a sister, comes from a family of athletes.
Her sister, Nthabiseng, played volleyball although she is no longer active.

Her brother, Salebone Lekhooa who many would recognise, plays for Matlama as a defender after joining the log leaders from Lioli. Her other sibling, who is also a coach, played for Lioli and Likhopo.
He now plays for the Agriculture College team every now and then.
“I saw people playing, it was a lot of women and men. I just stood there and watched them play. After a while they told us to get in. I had been looking at what they were doing so I went in and started playing with them,” she said.

“At the time I knew nothing about golf but it took me two months to practice then I started playing well,” she said.
When she started playing there weren’t a lot of women active in golf but she credits the few that were playing then for keeping her motivated. At some point she found herself with two options: stay at home or go to the golf course.
“The choice has always been easier for me.”

Golf has seen a big increase in women who play regularly and Lekhooa says for her that is bigger than anything.
Lekhooa only started competing in the Mohokare Golf Classic in 2017. Before that she had been competing in several local competitions as well as in tournaments in Botswana and Eswatini.
“The last time I played was before Covid-19. We have not been able to play at all but even though we were not playing, I still feel I am fit enough to play. I don’t train at all. I don’t go to practice, I just play,” she said.

“I learn from the mistakes of other people, mostly when we are playing. I use a different strategy to others in the sense that they are always there practising. In my mind I am thinking I don’t have to fix anything. I just play and concentrate,” she said.
When she is not playing, Lekhooa works as a sales person at a sneaker shop at the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC). She says the support shown by her colleagues and family has been immense, adding that the fact that her brother has stepped in as her coach means a lot to her.

“My family has supported me immensely very well even here at work they have shown a lot of support. I have a brother who plays football, he plays for Matlama. I have another one who used to play for Lioli, Likhopo and I have a sister who played volleyball,” she said.
“So I have always had that support. I am teaching my daughter at home, she is six. I have not brought her to the golf course yet, she is learning the basics,” she said.
Unlike football and many other physical sports, in golf one can play “until they are really old”.
Lekhooa says she finds the sport to be peaceful and quiet.

“Most importantly people respect each other,” she said.
“The first thing one needs to learn is how to read the scores and how much is your handicap, if you know how to stand to address the ball and what to do when it’s windy because we use that a lot,” she said.
The Mohokare tournament is played over two days at two golf courses; one in Maseru and another in Ladybrand.

Sports

Rabale eyes Champions League glory

Published

2 weeks ago

November 21, 2023

The Post

Lesotho women’s team captain Boitumelo Rabale has her eyes on winning her second CAF Women’s Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns as the tournament gets underway this weekend.
The third edition of the prestigious women’s club football is scheduled for Ivory Coast from November 5-19, where eight clubs will battle it out to be crowned Queens of the continent.

“Queen”, as the Lesotho star is commonly known, was part of the Sundowns squad that was crowned champions of the inaugural edition of the tournament held in Egypt two years ago, becoming the first player from the Mountain Kingdom to taste Champions League success.
She has become one of the key players in Jerry Tshabalala’s squad having walked away with the Hollywoodbets Player of the Season in the previous campaign and currently leads the goal-scoring charts with 21 goals.

“It was exciting to win the CAF Women’s Champions League with Sundowns two years ago and in the process becoming the first player from Lesotho to do so,” Rabale said.

“I felt very lucky and honoured to make history. It gave me confidence to continue working hard and strive for more success with the club”
Sundowns head to the tournament as regional champions after clinching the COSAFA qualifiers to qualify for the continental showpiece, where they will kickstart their campaign against Tanzania’s JKT Queens on Sunday.

Rabale admitted that memories of losing the last final to AS FAR still haunts them, but they head to Ivory Coast a better team than in the last tournament.

“We learnt the hard way when we lost in the final to AS FAR and we come back a better team having rectified our mistakes.

“It’s our dream to conquer the continent again and I have no doubt that we have what it takes to get our second star in Ivory Coast.

“It will be very good to add the second CAF Champions League medal to my trophy cabinet,” she said.

The 27-year-old has been prolific for Sundowns this campaign having scored nine goals in her last five matches to take her tally for this campaign to 21 goals.
Sundowns are in Group A alongside tournament hosts, Athletico Abidjan, Sporting Casablanca of Morocco, as well as Tanzania’s JKT Queen.

Since joining Sundowns in 2021, Rabale has won the Hollywoodbets Super League twice, the COSAFA Zonal qualifiers twice as well as the CAF Women’s Champions League and is the reigning Hollywoodbets Player of the season.

Tlalane Phahla

Sports

Red Skins fail to raise funds for championship

Published

2 weeks ago

November 21, 2023

The Post

Lesotho volleyball giants Red Skins have failed to raise funds for the 2023 Zone 6 Senior Indoor Volleyball Club Championship they are set to host in December.

Red Skins will host the competition together with four other local volleyball clubs – Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), Lesotho Mounted Police Station (LMPS) and Rivers – and the tournament is expected to start on December 7 and end 10 days later.

Without any funds or sponsors coming in, Red Skins will have to foot the bill from their pockets for the tournament which will see teams from 10 countries converge on Maseru.

Among the participating nations, Botswana is expected to bring the biggest contingent with 12 teams, with Zambia following closely behind with nine teams while Zimbabwe is set to be represented by six teams.

Two weeks ago, Red Skins participated in the Elite Cup in Gauteng, South Africa, which was hosted by Aqua Darshan Volleyball.
Red Skins hoped to win the tournament and return home with a hefty jackpot but they only collected M5 000 which was won by the men’s team.

A gala dinner that Red Skins hosted last weekend also failed to generate income due to low attendance and speaking to thepost on Tuesday, the club’s vice-captain, Moleboheng Mofolo, said they will have to push on with what they have to host the tournament.
Mofolo said they no longer have time to come up with other means to raise funds.

“Tournaments will require us to find sponsorships and we do not have time now, we have to focus and train well,” Mofolo said.

“Our coach already told us to camp from this week but rain is our biggest challenge because we cannot continue with the training,” she added.

Mofolo said Red Skins are fortunate that participating teams are going to take care of their accommodation and catering. She said if Red Skins had to provide those services, they would not have been able to manage.

She pleaded with individuals, organisations and companies to help the team, whether it is by offering accommodation, food, or whatever little they may have.

Tlalane Phahla

Sports

Giants avoid each other in Top 4 clash

Published

2 weeks ago

November 21, 2023

The Post

Women Super League (WSL) giants Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies and Kick4Life Ladies have avoided each other in the WSL Top 4 knockout competition.
The two-day showpiece takes centre stage this weekend at Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena and it will see last season’s top four finishers in the league – LDF, Kick4Life, Lijabatho and Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) Ladies – go head-to-head for bragging rights.

The draw for the competition took place last Friday and the semi-finals will see LDF go up against Lijabatho while Kick4Life will take on LMPS Ladies.
Both semi-finals will be played on Saturday with the tournament culminating the following day.

Sunday’s proceedings will kick-off with a third-place playoff game to determine who walks away with the bronze medals before the final later in the day.
All four games over the two days will be streamed on the FIFA+ website and the WSL Top 4 will usher in a new sponsor this year.

In the past, the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) fully bankrolled the competition, however, Computer Business Solutions (CBS) has come on board with a sponsorship for the first time.

The competition’s prize monies have not been revealed because they are still being finalised, but, speaking at last Friday’s draw, LEFA’s associations secretary general, Mokhosi Mohapi, said the relationship with CBS is one that sport should engage in.
Mohapi added his hopes that the relationship will be a long-term one.

“While others are busy at their thing, we should really grow ours so that when their distraction finally ends, they find us as united as we can be as the football community,” Mohapi said.
“(We should be) united by the efforts and inputs that emanate from the business community, especially when it is a truly Lesotho business entity because other (foreign entities) are here to take money,” he said.

Addressing CBS as the tournament’s sponsor, Mohapi said: “We are thankful as LEFA for your initiative; (we) hope you will be in this marriage quite long. We know we are just testing the waters but we have a lot that can entice you to stay longer, not only my command but the instruments that we have.”

Mohapi said LEFA’s dream is that in two years’ time all league matches will be streaming on the FIFA+ platform which was launched last April by football’s world governing body to increase exposure of men and women’s football around the globe.

Currently, only three grounds in the country have the structures for broadcasting; Bambatha as well as the grounds at LDF and Lesotho Correctional Service grounds, and all are in Maseru.
LEFA plans to add more grounds to the list with the DIFA facilities in Maputsoe and Mohale’s Hoek set to be the first to follow suit.

“All our women’s competitions, cup competitions and (Vodacom) Premier League matches that will be played in those stadia that have our infrastructure – we will be able to stream those games internationally,” Mohapi said.

“We have extended our footprint,” he added.

“We are now doing LDF – we have already put up the structure – then we are moving to Maputsoe and, hopefully, Mohale’s Hoek. It is our desire that in two years’ time we will hopefully cover all the matches and put them on the FIFA+ streaming platform.”

WSL Top 4 fixtures:
Semi-finals:
Saturday (Bambatha)
Lijabatho Ladies vs. LDF Ladies
LMPS Ladies vs. Kick4Life Ladies

Tlalane Phahla