From ELIAS CHIPEPO In Brazzaville –
PARALYMPIAN Richard Lubanza has qualified for Rio 2016 Olympic Games despite finishing fifth in the men’s 72kg powerlifting competition at the Congo Brazzaville 2015 All Africa Games that comes to an end today.
In his first attempt, Lubanza managed to lift 130kg before going for 135kg in the second try which proved to be his overall best after failing in the 140kg.
That was enough to see him beat the 132kg qualifying mark set by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) which was used to pick athletes during the AAG.
Coach Wisdom Moonga confirmed the development in an interview in Brazzaville yesterday.
Mnga expressed happiness with Lubanza’s qualification and urged the athlete to continue working hard as competition will be tough in Brazil.
Another Zambian competitor, Sara Kenda, competing in the 79kg, surprisingly failed all her three attempts in 60kg, 70kg and 75kgs.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Elelfat of Egypt, who is also African champion, won the men’s 72kg category after lifting 212kg followed by Innocent Nnamdi of Nigeria on 200kg while in third position was Cosme Akpovi of Benini on 155kg.
Ernest Oscar was fourth on 151kg followed by Lubanza with Mosab Gharsalla finishing in sixth with 120 kg while Sogie Robert of Sierra Leone failed to register a best score after failing in his three attempts in the 125kg, 135kg and 136kg.
Meanwhile, Director of sport, Bessy Chelemu said there was need to identify other disciplines that could increase Zambia’s chances of minting medals at various international competitions.
Chelemu gave an example of the Kenyans and Ethiopians who have indentified long distance races as their strength and have taken advantage by entering as many athletes as possible to enhance the chances of winning.
She said Government would ensure resources were allocated to have athletes camped for longer periods when preparing for competitions like the AAG, Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
“I think we have learnt lessons from here and there is more we need to do if we are to start winning medals. We need to camp our athletes for longer periods and also identify which sports can increase our chances of winning medals at these competitions,” she said.
At the AAG, Zambia minted a gold medal through Kabange Mupopo in the 400m while boxer Ben Muziyo won bronze medal from the 57 athletes that were picked to compete at the Pan African Games.
Zambia was represented in athletics, boxing, judo, handball, Paralympics and swimming.
Chelemu said in an interview yesterday that there was need for the associations to build on what they have learnt at the AAG ahead of the upcoming competitions.