THE gold medal won by multi-talented Kabange Mupopo in the 400m removed the shame of the Zambian delegation going back home from the Congo Brazzaville 2015 All Africa Games (AAG) with just a bronze medal.
It has been a poor outing for the Zambian athletes to say the least save for Mupopo and middleweight boxer Ben Muziyo, who managed to mint bronze, while others returned as tourists.
Much as some athletes tried their best, as we were told by the coaches, it counted for nothing as Zambia failed to win medals while other countries ran away with gold and silver.
Zambia has been competing at these tournaments (AAG, Commonwealth and Olympic Games) for a long time and I feel people are now tired of being told of how tough the competition was or rather how unprepared the athletes were for the tournament.
It is high time that Zambians stopped talking and started being action oriented, I remember the jokes comrades tell at a watering hole of how Zambia would emerge champions in many disciplines by just talking.
These associations know and have always known how tough these competitions are but sadly they come up with excuses on the need to prepare adequately for future tournaments.
This has become tiresome. Have Zambian athletes become mere participants who just want to receive allowances and travel back empty handed without a medal to show for it?.
Zambia must start fielding as many athletes as possible even in track and field events (long distance, shot-put, javelin, high and long jump), table tennis, tennis and badminton to increase the chances of minting medals.
It cannot be a bad idea to consider reducing the number of Government officials and bring in more athletes and possibly an official from an association unlike passengers who are doing nothing to add value to the competition.
Let a deliberate policy be put up to enable boxers and judokas compete in the various competitions across the world, like their friends do in west and north Africa, to gain experience ahead of such competitions.
Making our boxers fight fellow below par pugilists during the Agricultural and Commercial Show Society or Zambia International Trade Fair does not raise the standard of the boxers.
But rather the Zambia Boxing Federation (ZBF) should see how best these boxers can be attending training programmes in Cuba or India so that the pugilists can learn the different styles of fighting, ring craft and latest techniques in the game.
Kudos to my namesake, Elias Mpondela, the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) president, for investing in young athletes, who have started winning medals and showing a lot of promise.
The idea by ZAAA to expose these young runners, Mupopo, Brian Kasinda, Sydney Siame, Godfrey Chama among others, is a step in the right direction because, if nurtured well, these runners will start winning medals in three to four years as they would have gained experience.
Looking at the levels of competition at the AAG, athletes need to up their game if Zambia is to avoid embarrassing performances at high level competitions.
Congratulations to Mupopo and Muziyo for once again removing shame that could have engulfed the Zambian delegation as they head back home.
Let’s keep interacting on eliaschipepo@gmail.com or elias.chipepo@times.co.zm and wish you a wonderful sporting weekend.