South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Chief Operating Officer Patience Shikwambana says they are still hopeful that athletes participating in the IAAF world athletics championships in Doha, Qatar will still bring home medals.
The games started last Friday and will end on Sunday but there is still no medal for team SA. SA finished third in the medal table in London two years ago with six medals (3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze).
Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk are not available in Doha for various reasons.
Meanwhile, Netball South Africa has appointed Dorette Badenhorst as coach and Dumisani Chauke as an assistant coach until the World Cup in 2023 in Cape Town. Shikwambana is happy with the appointments.
Badenhorst has been working with Chauke for many years in the Under-21 national team. They also worked together for Gauteng Fireballs in the Premier League last year. The pair replaced Norma Plummer and Nicole Cusack who are both from Australia.
The Australians contracts ended after the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England in July. Shikwambana is also happy local coaches were given the nod. – Report by Vincent Sitsula
