BDF Table Tennis club ended this year’s season on a high as they took all but one gold medal on offer at the Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) Top 16 tournament held over the weekend.
The army side’s players capped off the year with a convincing display that saw them get four out of a possible five gold medals on offer at the tournament. While the army side won gold in the ladies’ singles, men’s doubles, the ladies doubles as well as the mixed doubles, the only blemish for them was in the men’s singles title where they failed to send a player into the finals.
Going into the ladies finals, the country’s leading lady, Boitshwarelo Butale, continued her dominance as she beat Salome Matlhatsi 3 ÔÇô 1 to win gold. The win means that Butale has now won almost every tournament she has played ever since this season began. The men’s singles title, however, eluded BDF as it went to the country’s number 2 ranked player, Bonolo Mabote, of Smash Maniacs, who beat his number 13 ranked opponent from Nhabe Table Tennis Club, Kennete Santundu, by a convincing 3 ÔÇô 0 margin.
Despite his loss, Santundu should be happy with his performance on the day as he made it through past a very tough field of opponents that included, among others, the hard hitting Joseph Kgatlampane and McDonald Qalinge who are ranked high above him. After losing the men’s singles, BDF made amends as they clinched the men’s doubles through Thabo Matlhatsi and Boipelo Pitsonyane who beat the duo of Santundu and Qalinge of Nhabe 3 ÔÇô 2 to win gold before Butale and Tshepiso Rebatenne did the same in the ladies category, beating the partnership of Matshediso Osi and Phemelo Gaborapelwe of Smash Maniacs 3 ÔÇô 1, to win BDF’s third gold of the day.
Butale then continued her imperious form in the mixed doubles where she teamed up with Tiro Motswasele to beat their fellow finalists and teammates Pitsonyane and Rebatenne by a convincing 3 ÔÇô 1 margin. Besides the gold medals, the winners of the singles categories walked away with, among others, a cash prize of P2┬á000 each as well as a one night accommodation voucher each at Sedibeng Lodge while their runners up won P1┬á000 and silver medals. The winners of the doubles and mixed doubles got P1┬á000 and gold medals while their runners’ up got silver and P500.
