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IT was a transition season that offered hope that the once thriving sport could regain its lost glory following the hosting of the 2012 Zambia Open Tennis Championship at Lusaka Club.
The once vibrant sports standards in tennis had fallen to sorry levels in the last decade, especially after the retirement of Dermot Sweeney, Lighton Ndefwayi, Sidney Bwalya, Kela Simunyola and Niza Simunyola.
`The good old days’ seem to be back with the revival of the Zambia Open Championship.
Zambia’s best tennis player Edgar Kazembe won the Zambia Open Championship after overcoming Zimbabwe’s Martin Dzuwa to remain the country’s undisputed number one tennis player.
Kazembe also won the men’s doubles in partnership with Botswana’s highly rated Phenyo Matong, whom he defeated in the singles semi-finals enroute to winning his third title.
ZTA president Tolani Zulu and his executive should be commended for reviving their flagship tournament that attracted players from neighbouring countries.
The Zambia Open Tennis Championship has the potential to attract International Tennis Association (ITF)-ranked players once the Local Organising Committee come up with attractive prize moneys.
Kazembe earned a paltry US$1,500 (about K7.5 million) for winning the Zambia Open Tennis title.
Zambia also fielded four junior players Jackson Kalaba and Mwele Chiwana, Idah Lengwe and Caroline Zulu in the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa Zone Six Under-20 Games.
Chiwama, Kalaba, Lengwe and Zulu’s performance was disappointing. The quartet lost in the quarter-finals but gained the exposure needed for the future.
Zulu said the association is confident the 2013 season will be a success.
Nchanga Racquets Club successfully hosted the Nchanga Open Tennis Championship with the support from Konkola Copper Mines Plc.
The tournament also attracted players from Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
KCM has pledged to rehabilitate the dilapidated tennis courts at Nchanga Racquets Club as part of the mining company’s corporate social responsibility.
MOTORSPORT
The year was spectacular for motorsport and memorable for the young driver Mohammed Essa, who became the third Zambian to win the Africa Rally Championship title.
Essa with co-driver Greg Stead won the Africa Rally Championship after accumulating an unassailable 115 points with two rallies remaining - the KCB Rwanda Mountain Gorilla rally and Rally International Madagascar.
The 22-year-old Essa raced in a Subaru Impreza N12 pro-drive car and won three rallies - the Puma Energy Zambia International Rally, Shell Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally and Puma Energy Tanzania Rally.
Essa became the third Zambian to win the African title after eight-time champion the legendary Satwant Singh and Muna Singh, who won it in 2004 and 2005.
Essa is sponsored by Madison Insurance.
BASKETBALL
At the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa Zone Six Under-20 Games, the Zambia Basketball Association (ZBA) put up a fairly good performance but generally Zambia’s teams at various levels fared poorly.
At the Games, the women’s team managed a bronze medal but the men were denied that honour by South Africa and settled for fourth place and no medal.
In the year, basketball has not recorded any international success despite individual teams taking part in club competitions.
“Internationally, we did not do well. We haven’t achieved much on the international scene except some of our clubs went to Mozambique but did not fare well,” ZBA president Boniface Kambikambi said.
The association supported two referees’ trip to the zonal clinics in Botswana and Robert Mwanatamba, an international referee, attended a refresher course in Kenya.
On the local front, the national basketball league has seen a tremendous improvement with an increase in league participation.
The association is now running under a new FIBA development structure, which has taken over three years to implement.
“We had to review our structure, which took three years three months to implement. It has helped us realign our development structure. We have clear rules and clear direction to run the league,” Kambikambi said.
The 2012 basketball season ends belatedly next month with a season-ending national championship.
BOWLING
Winning a silver medal at the 2012 China Open in March heightened the Zambian women bowlers in the year before they also took part in the African States Tournament in South Africa.
The Zambian team also took gold in the continental championship in the pairs and singles categories.
The women from Nchanga Bowling club, Getrude Siame, Mildred Chasaya, Rhoda Namphosya and Angela Ntonongela, put up a splendid display at the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls and Training Centre in China to capture a medal for Zambia.
The team, which made a late minute travel for the tournament after Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) came to their rescue, were on course for an upset before going down to the home side and favourites China Central.
The Zambian women lost 7-4 to settle for a silver medal.
Financial hiccups in the Zambia Bowling Association (ZBA) hindered the bowlers’ participation in many international events but in July, the Zambians secured some funds and participated in the African States Bowls.
Buildcon Zambia came to the players’ rescue after purchasing air-tickets worth K35 million for the tournament in South Africa.
The team of Bright Mwanza, Trajan Mpepesa, Eddie Mumba, Dan Sula, Harry Musonda and Christie Kapata made up the men’s squad. The women team had Foster Banda, Edah Mpezeni, Matimba Like, Mary Ntonongela, Evelyn Mpepesa and was led by Sophia Matipa.
The women’s pair of Like and Banda picked a gold medal in the pairs competition at the tournament played at Umhlali in Durban. The men ended third and earned themselves a bronze medal.
Like also got a gold in the singles with the Zambia’s men’s foursomes settling for a bronze.
CHESS
Chess, an individual sport, scored the most success in the country with 13 individuals gaining international recognition for their contribution and achievement in the game for Zambia and borders beyond.
Administrators and players gained credit for their tireless efforts – from being conferred with the International Organiser title to a Candidate Master, others travelled across the borderline to bring home honours while the country also upped her rating globally.
The year began with Kennedy Katowa conquering and winning the Zambezi battle, edging Zimbabwe’s highest ranked player and International Master (IM) Robert Gwaze by half a point to capture the Zimbabwe Open Chess championship.
Katowa finished on eight points to top the event and relegated that country’s favourite and defending champion into joint second with six other players.
In Botswana in October, Kelvin Chumfwa ran away with the Botswana Open title when he edged out fellow Zambian Gillan Bwalya for the title on a tie break.
The players were both on 9.5 points after 11 round, but Chumfwa’s win over his compatriot landed him this year’s Botswana Open title.
Lorita Mwango settled for a silver medal in the under-16 to18 category at the African Youth Chess Championships in South Africa in September and October while Jonathan Thomas won a bronze medal.
Mwango garnered six and half points for her silver after nine rounds and ended the year with a gold medal with her display at the Copperbelt Christmas Open chess tournament in Kitwe last weekend.
Sekelani Tembo did not have a sound outing in the under-14 ranks as he finished 10th overall on 4.5 points while Thomas amassed six points in his category.
Mwali Chitumbo closed the year with a gold medal at the Copperbelt Christmas Open but it is his rival, Daniel Jere, who was conferred with the 2011 Sports-man-of-the-year together with Epah Tembo’s Sportswoman-of-the-year, who continues to rule the local game when he won the Zambia Closed Championship.
Jere was also conferred with the International Master (IM) title this year although he had attained the title last year and also bestowed with titles were Stanley Chumfwa (IM), Thomas and Kelvin Chumfwa earned Candidate Master titles.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) awarded Chess Federation of Zambia (CFZ) president Lewis Ncube & Chanda Nsakanya the International Organiser title.
GOLF
The return of the Zambia Open Golf Championship to the Lusaka Golf Club, it’s traditional venue this year, after six previous tournaments was a major highlight but with only a disappointing two Zambians making a cut in the championships.
Madalitso Muthiya and Dayne Moore are the only two that managed to go the full length to play the 72-hole tournament but as has always been in the championship since its inception in 1972, a foreign golfer went away with the title.
Justin Harding of South Africa shot 12-under 280 to win the trophy at the country’s premier golf club with Muthiya, who is in the United States, firing a par 292 after four days.
Moore was six-over 298 as the Zambian failed to replicate his top form of two years ago when still an amateur and squeezed amongst the top 15 bracket.
Junior golfers did not also have some pleasant outing finishing sixth at the African Junior Championships in Namibia in April but the move by the Zambia Golf Union to nurture golfers for the future paid off positively at the Nchanga Golf Club later the same month.
The event drew over 60 junior golfers with Tristan Brice emerging victor after 36-holes of play.