Xmas comes early for Sibanda

17 Dec, 2017 - 00:12 0 Views
Xmas comes early for Sibanda

The Sunday Mail

Don Makanyanga
When he made the 440km journey from Bulawayo to Harare last Wednesday, little did Mehluli Don Sibanda know that his day would end on a high.

The 18-year-old tennis ace was crowned Zimbabwe’s Junior Sportsman and Junior Sportsperson of the year at the Annual National Sports Awards held last Wednesday night.

“When I came here I did not think I would win any of the awards, I was just grateful to be nominated,” an elated Sibanda said.

“This was my first time to be nominated for these awards and I was simply coming here (Harare) to enjoy myself.

“To then go on and win two awards was all too surreal,” he said. Sibanda describes his family as a supportive one, singling out his brother as the one who helped him pick up the pieces when the chips were down.

“My elder brother has helped me a lot in motivating me whenever I feel I down, he has always been by my side, motivating me to push on.

“My whole family plays tennis and these awards belong to the Sibanda family,” he said. The promising tennis player has played a total of 14 finals, winning two singles and three doubles finals in his career.

“I would say this year has been my best tennis year since I started playing as I have managed to win several titles and would say the sweetest of the victories was when I won those (singles) titles on home soil.

“And like I said before. these awards mean a lot to me and I would like to believe that the hard work and patience that I have invested into my tennis has finally paid off,” he said.

His love for the sport began at a tender age of eight as he watched 19-times Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer play, and ever since that day he has never looked back.

“I enjoyed watching tennis, and when I was eight years old I admired how Federer played and how he did his strokes and I think he was one of the players who influenced me into taking the sport seriously,” he said.

Sibanda recently opted out of normal school to concentrate on his tennis and is currently study-ing towards Matric level with a South African online college Brainline.

“I opted out of normal school for home school (online schooling) so that I could concentrate on my passion and the results are there for everyone to see,” said the tennis ace.

The Junior Sportsman of the Year winner has had dances with the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team, making his debut last year in Georgia before making an appearance for the national side this year when Zimbabwe qualified for the 2018 Africa-Euro Group II in July.

Sibanda believes his dance with the Davis Cup team on two occasions has played a pivotal role in shaping his budding tennis career.

He says the experience he got from being part of the national team has developed him into the player he is today.

“I have been part of Zimbabwe Davis Cup team and played a couple of games in Georgia in 2016 and this year though I was part of the team I did not play but I relish the experience that comes with being with the national team,” he said.

Sibanda is already looking into the future as he turns pro next year.

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds