Lesotho to shoot for gold at 2018 Africa Youth Games

Team Lesotho heads to Algeria...

Lesotho will compete in six disciplines at the 2018 Africa Youth Games next week looking for its first gold medal at the showpiece.

The championships will be held in the Algerian capital Algiers and will see the continent’s best young talents converge for glory.

The Africa Youth Games are held every four years to complement the All-Africa Games and are contested by athletes between the ages of 14 and 17 years. This year’s showpiece will run from July 17 to 27 and will serve as a qualifier for the 2018 Youth Olympics Games which will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina later this year in October.

In Algeria, Lesotho will compete in athletics, beach volleyball, boxing, taekwondo, tennis and weightlifting; in total, the team will comprise 18 athletes.

Team Lesotho will be spearheaded by the athletics team which will comprise Matšeliso Seatle in the girls’ 1500 metres, Mojela Konoshe in the boys’ 100 metres and Tšepang Motjolopane in the boys’ 3000 metres races.

Lesotho also has high hopes in boxing where Phomolo Lengola will compete in the boys’ 56 kilogram class while Lehlohonolo Pitso will box in the 75kg competition. The Africa Youth Games will be Lengola’s second major youth competition in just over a year after he reached the quarterfinal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas last June.

In beach volleyball Lesotho will have a girls team of Montšeng Mabea and Matšeliso Nchakha and a boys pair of Nqheku Lepheane and Liteboho Mohau.

In taekwondo, Teboho Phasumane and Katleho Mokone will compete in the girls’ competition while Tumelo Mosala will fight in the boys’ section. In weightlifting Relebohile Mokhele will contest the girls’ 44 kg and Raballo Ramoneng will compete in the boys’ 56kg.

Finally, in tennis, Kekeletso Moseme and ‘Manyama Maisa will compete in the girls’ event while Nyathi Motlojoa and Mpaleng Sempe will be in the boys’ draw. The four prospects will also compete in the doubles and mixed doubles tournaments.

Team Lesotho will leave for Algiers on Sunday, July 15, and will return on July 29.

Molefe joins Mokhotho in Commonwealth Games boxing quarterfinals

Lesotho's Thabo Molefe (in red) during his win over Vanuatu’s Gill Kalai

Thabo Molefe has joined teammate Moroke Mokhotho in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Commonwealth Games boxing competition, raising Lesotho’s hopes of a medal at the Gold Coast Games in Australia.

Molefe beat Vanuatu’s Gill Kalai by a unanimous 5-0 decision in the men’s 52 kilograms round of 16 stage early on Monday morning at Oxenford Studios where the boxing tournament is being held.

Molefe will next face Vidanalange Ishan Bandara of Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals on Wednesday knowing a win would put him on the verge of winning a medal. The quarterfinal match is scheduled to take place at 5:47AM Lesotho Time.

Molefe joined Lesotho’s top boxer Mokhotho in the quarterfinals. Mokhotho, who is fighting in the 56kg tournament, beat Jean Jordy Vadamootoo of Mauritius by a 3-2 split in the round of 16 on Saturday.

The 2016 Olympian will face Northern Ireland’s Kurt Warner in the quarters on Tuesday morning. Mokhotho goes into the bout hoping to go one better than at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland where he fell at the same quarterfinal stage.

Mokhotho came into these Commonwealth Games with more experience and confidence after winning gold at the Zone 4 African Boxing Championship in February in Maputo, Mozambique.

Mokhotho and Molefe are the only members of Lesotho’s five-strong boxing team to make it through to the next round of the Gold Coast Games.

‘Mantoa Ranone lost to New Zealand’s Alexis Pritchard in the women’s 57kg round of 16, Mokhachane Moshoeshoe lost to New Zealand’s Leroy Hindley in the men’s 69kg round of 16 and Qhobosheane Mohlerepe lost to Michael McDonagh of Wales in the men’s 60kg round of 16.

Boxing, nevertheless, appears to be Lesotho’s best hope for success in Australia so far.

In athletics there was disappointment for Lesotho’s number one sprinter Mosito Lehata on Saturday as he fell at the semi-final stage of the 100 metres event after he was unable to finish the race.

There was similar frustration for his athletics teammates.

Mokulubetse Makatisi (women’s 1500 metres heats) and Lineo Chaka (women’s 10 000 metres final) finished last in their races while Toka Badboy was disqualified from the men’s 5000 metres final. Bafokeng Moeti also finished 11th out of 14 athletes in the men’s 69kg weightlifting competition.

But all is not lost. On Tuesday, Lehata will get another chance to make his mark when he starts in the heats of his favoured 200 metres event while Lerato Sechele will contest the women’s triple jump final.

Lesotho is trying to add to its all-time tally of three medals at the Commonwealth Games – Moses Kopo’s boxing bronze in 2006 in Melbourne, Sephula Letuka’s boxing bronze in 2002 in Manchester and Thabiso Moqhali’s marathon gold in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.

Kopo promises change for Lesotho boxing

Lesotho boxing legend Moses Kopo, left, at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

Boxing legend Moses Kopo says he intends to bring change to the sport after he was voted the new president of the Lesotho Amateur Boxing Association (LABA) late last month.

Kopo was memorably the silver medal winner at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and his election has brought excitement to local boxing fraternity.

For the past few years boxing has been dogged by infighting that has affected the growth of the sport.

Kopo, however, said the conflicts would be a thing of the past.

“We want to leave office politics and serve the interests of the boxers and their development,” Kopo said.

“We want the boxers to know that they are the most important people and that means the committee must assist the coaches to ensure our athletes succeed.”

Kopo, of the Makoanyane Boxing Club, said his committee wants to establish a good working relationship with boxers and grow Lesotho’s pool of qualified boxing coaches.

“Our next step will be to ensure that we have a large pool of coaches with the credentials to coach at the highest level,” he said. “At the moment our only internationally recognised coaches are Sibusiso Keketsi and Liphalo Moeketsi so it will be good to bring an expert to train more coaches.”

Kopo also wants the country to host more tournaments and increase focus on women’s boxing.

“Surely we cannot expect the sport to grow when there are no competitions. The most important aspect going forward is to ensure there is proper infrastructure for the athletes to be able to compete,” he said. “We will also work hard to bring equality by bringing in women boxers and administrators as well as partnering with local and international stakeholders to help us take the sport to another level.”

One of the new LABA committee’s first tasks is to amend its constitution and ensure the proper organising of finances and reports, Kopo said.

“It is going to be a tough task for us because there are no reports (from the previous committee) including financial to give us direction going forward,” he explained. “It is very important that we revisit the constitution to make amendments to correct a few things that were not done properly.”

To achieve all his targets, Kopo said he will use his experiences as a boxer as a barometer.

“Because I saw the struggles of boxing since I started as a young boxer I know what is needed,” he said. “I want to minimise the conflicts so that we join hands and take the sport to greater heights.”

Commonwealth Games medallist Kopo new president of Lesotho boxing

Silver medallist Moses Kopo (left) with his fellow medallists at the
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games

Former Commonwealth Games medallist Moses Kopo has been elected as the new president of the Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA).

Kopo, of the Makoanyane Boxing Club, was elected at the LeBA elections which were held on Sunday.

Kopo won silver at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and he will lead LeBA for a four-year term. He replaces Takatso Ramakhula who had been president since 2012.

The post of president was contested by Kopo and Teboho Mafatle but it was a no-contest with Kopo winning all the votes.

The new executive committee has one woman, Nthati Theko, who is the vice secretary- general.

The elections were overseen by Andile Mofu who is the president of the Zone IV South African National Amateur Boxing Organisation and an executive member of the African Boxing Confederation.

“I encourage the entire committee to avoid being big-headed and remember that they are not here for their personal interests but to serve the interests of the Lesotho boxing fraternity,” Mofu said.

Moses Kopo (left) in 2006...

The elections saw Lehlohonolo Lebotsa and former secretary-general Thabiso Mokuoane elected as vice-presidents to Kopo. Lebotsa will handle technical affairs while Mokuoane will oversee the administrative side of things.

Kopo pledged to oversee an aggressive programme to develop boxing in Lesotho.

“I will work hand-in-hand with my colleagues to decentralise resources and to reach out to all boxers at grassroots levels. We will embark on training sessions in which we will go out and train upcoming boxers,” Kopo said.

New LeBA executive committee:

President	Moses Kopo
Vice-president/Admin	Thabiso Mokuoane
Vice-president/Technical	Lehlohonolo Lebotsa
Secretary General	Thapelo Motsetsela
Vice-secretary General	Nthati Theko
Treasurer	Lehlohonolo Snyman
Public Relations Officer	Katiso Tšenoli
National Coach	Sibusiso Keketsi
Sports Organiser	Phello Sofe
Members	Rethabile Mohale and Lethola Mabeta

Lesotho boxers set for Bahamas

Olympian Moroke Mokhotho will be headed to the Commonwealth Youth Games

Lesotho will have four boxers at the Commonwealth Youth Games which will be held in June in the Bahamas.

The boxers are Olympians Moroke Mokhotho and Inkululeko Suntele as well as young prospects Phomolo Lengola and Tlholohelo Mokhesi.

Mokhotho competes in the 52 kilogram weight class while Suntele boxes in the 56 kg division. Lengola and Mokhesi, meanwhile, are both in the 49 kg weight class.

Lengola and Mokhesi took part in the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games for Under-21 athletes that were held in Angola in December. Mokhesi returned with a bronze medal from the games and the duo is viewed amongst the country’s most promising boxing prospects.

Mokhotho and Suntele, on the other hand, were part of Lesotho’s team at the 2016 Olympic Games last August and they will be making their first international appearances since Rio when they compete in the Bahamas.

The team plans to go to Botswana in March to fine-tune before they head to the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The boxers started their training on January 2 and are slated to compete at the Dihlabeng Opening Boxing Tournament in Bethlehem, South Africa next month.

In terms of sponsorship, the four boxers are under the backing of the Lesotho National Olympic Committee but Lesotho Boxing Association public relations officer Pheello Sofe appealed to the business community to support the team and local boxing.

Sibusiso Keketsi Q&A: “Olympic medal is possible for Lesotho”

Moroke Mokhothu... Lesotho Olympian and future prospect...

2016 was a promising year for Lesotho boxing. In August, two Lesotho boxers – Moroke Mokhotho and Suntele Inkululeko – competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It was the first time Lesotho had qualified for Olympic boxing tournament since Sydney in 2000. With 2016 in the books and 2017 upon us, the key is to build on the promise. The Molapo Sports Centre catches up Lesotho national boxing coach Sibusiso Keketsi for his thoughts on boxing’s progress and goals going forwards.

MSC: How did 2016 go in the boxing scene? What were your highlights and lowlights?

Keketsi: Even though our boxers qualified for the Olympic Games which was only the second time that Lesotho has ever qualified for boxing at the Olympic Games since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it was not easy at all. We can’t deny the fact that there are challenges within boxing and within its stakeholders and this has affected our sport in a negative way. So, qualifying for the Olympics was the best thing to have happened to the boxing family.

Boxing royalty... Lesotho boxing coach Sibusiso Keketsi (left)
with Floyd Mayweather at Rio 2016

MSC: What are your plans for 2017? Which tournaments and international competitions are on the calendar?

Keketsi: We want to start preparing for the next Olympic Games (in 2020). Also to secure sponsors for our boxers and send them to the (AIBA) World Boxing Championships (in Hamburg, Germany) and the regional Zone VI games.

MSC: How was the experience of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games? What did you learn and gain from it as a coach and as a team?

Keketsi: Competing with a team that didn’t get enough support and that didn’t have a chance to prepare on time, I have noticed that winning an Olympic medal is possible for our country; but, of course, that can only happen with good preparation and exposure.

It wasn’t my first Olympics as a coach and I have experienced it as an athlete. There isn’t much that is outstanding that I learned from Rio except that everything is possible with good preparation.

MSC: What is next for Lesotho’s Olympians Moroke Mokhotho and Suntele Inkululeko?

Keketsi: The two boxers have already started preparing for the next international events such as the World Boxing Championships.

MSC: Are there any young boxers that you are excited about going forward?

Keketsi: There are some from the boxing team that took part in the (AUSC) Region 5 Games in December and we have identified potential boxers who will be joining the senior team from now onwards.

MSC: How do you plan to build on the promising fact that Lesotho had two boxers at the Rio Olympics?

Keketsi: Like I mentioned earlier, we have already started training and, if things go as planned, we shall have international competitions before the (2020) Olympics. With that route, we believe that we can produce a competitive team for those Games with a possibility of a medal.

Team Lesotho’s Rio 2016 schedule

Moroke Mokhotho will begin Lesotho's
Rio 2016 campaign

The first Lesotho athlete to taste action at the Rio 2016 Olympics will be boxer Inkululeko Suntele when he faces Tunisia’s Bilel Mhamdi in the early hours of Friday morning. Suntele, who will compete in the 52 kilograms flyweight class, will box in the round of 32 clash at 03:15 CAT on Friday.

The winner of the Suntele-Mhamdi bout will meet Argentina’s Alberto Ezequiel Melian or Ghana’s Abdul Omar on Monday in the round of 16.

Suntele’s fight will launch Team Lesotho’s Rio 2016 campaign.

On Saturday, Lesotho’s leading man and flag bearer Mosito Lehata will hit the track when the 100 metres preliminary heats get underway.

After that, Suntele’s boxing teammate Moroke Mokhotho will get his turn in the ring when he meets Achraf Kharroubi of Morocco on Sunday morning. Should Mokhotho advance he will face Cuba’s Yosbany Veitia in the next round of the 52kg flyweight competition.

With most of Team Lesotho involved in the athletics programme, the majority of the action for Lesotho will take place in the second week of the Olympic Games.

Team Lesotho, Events and Dates:

Athlete: Moroke Jeremia Mokhotho (Boxing)

Date of Birth: November 12, 1990 (Age 25)

Events: Boxing Men’s Fly (52 kg)

Dates: Sunday, 14 August - Round of 32 v Achraf Kharroubi (Morocco), 04:00

 

Athlete: Inkululeko Suntele (Boxing)

Date of Birth: April 30, 1994 (Age 22)

Events: Boxing Men’s Bantam (56 kg)

Dates: Friday, 12 August - Round of 32 v Bilel Mhamdi (Tunisia), 03:15

Athlete: Tšepang Sello (Athletics)

800 metres runner Tšepang Sello

Date of Birth: February 23, 1997 (Age 19)

Events: Athletics Women’s 800 metres

Dates: Wednesday, 17 August – Women’s 800m Round 1 Heats (starting 20:55)

Athlete: Namakoe Nkhasi (Athletics)

Date of Birth: January 10, 1993 (Age 23)

Events: Athletics Men’s 5000 metres

Dates: Wednesday, 17 August – Men’s 5000m Round 1 Heats (starting 15:05)

Athlete: Mosito Lehata (Athletics)

Date of Birth: April 08, 1989 (Age 27)

Height and Weight: 1.77 metres - 69 kg

Events:

Athletics Men’s 100 metres

Athletics Men’s 200 metres

Dates:

Saturday, 13 August – Men’s 100m Preliminary Round Heats (starting 19:30)

Tuesday, 16 August – Men’s 200m Round 1 Heats (starting 21:50)

Athlete: Lebenya Nkoka (Marathon)

Date of Birth: October 19, 1982 (Age 33)

Events: Athletics Men's Marathon

Dates: Sunday, 21 August (19:30)

Athlete: Tšepo Mathibelle (Marathon)

Date of Birth: June 30, 1991 (Age 25)

Events: Athletics Men’s Marathon

Dates: Sunday, 21 August (19:30)

Athlete: Phetetso Monese (Cycling)

Date of Birth: September 22, 1984 (Age 31)

Event: Cycling Mountain Bike Men’s Cross-country

Dates: Sunday, 21 August (22:30)

Women’s national rugby team coming soon

More developments coming to Lesotho rugby...

A women’s national rugby team is in the pipeline, according to the Federation of Lesotho Rugby (FLR).

Although Lesotho is yet to have a women’s league, the FLR currently has five women’s rugby teams – NUL Spears, Maseru Warriors, Mabote Beavers, LCS and LDF.

The teams take part in mini-tournaments throughout the year and the FLR is hoping to launch a national side by the end of 2016.

The move is part of the federation’s efforts to continue the development of ladies rugby in the country. The FLR was formed in 2012 and has made big strides in developing the men’s game however women’s rugby has been left behind.

The FLR has also confirmed that a Maseru Select women’s team will take part in the Eastern Free State Ace Magashule Rugby Cup tournament to be held next month in the Free State, South Africa.

To boxing and national coach Sibusiso Keketsi says he is happy with the month-long Cuba training camp for the Olympic-bound pair of Moroke Mokhotho and Inkululeko Suntele. The two boxing hopefuls arrived in Cuba two weeks ago.

They are undergoing final preparations at the Cuban High Performance Training Centre in Havana ahead of next month’s Olympic Games. Keketsi said the camp will sharpen Mokhotho and Suntele.

“This camp is very important for our boxers because they will be using world-class facilities. Training with top boxers will help them gain the much-needed experience and international exposure,” Keketsi said.

The Olympic boxing tournaments are scheduled to take place from August 6 to 21.

Finally to football and the Lesotho Under-20 side is finalising preparations for Saturday’s 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifier second leg against South Africa. The Makoanyane XI will face Vodacom Premier League side Sundawana this afternoon in their final tune-up match.

Lesotho is trailing South Africa 2-0 from the first leg played last Sunday at Setsoto Stadium. 

Suntele Inkululeko qualifies for 2016 Olympic Games

Inkululeko: Boxing success for Lesotho

The list of athletes that will represent Lesotho at the Rio Olympic Games in August has grown to four after the qualification of boxer Suntele Inkululeko.

Inkululeko joins marathon runners Tšepo Mathibelle and Motlokoa Nkhabutlane as well as sprinter Mosito Lehata as the members of Team Lesotho thus far.

Inkululeko won his place by qualifying from the AIBA African Olympic Qualification Event that was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from March 11 to 19.

Inkululeko, who fights in the 56-kilogram bantamweight class, beat Uganda’s Atanas Mugerwa 2-1 in their qualification decider.

The Olympic Games are slated for August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.