SPORTS AT HIGH LEVEL

Watching the Seychelles mixed double in the Olympic for Badminton, I was relieved to see at least one sporting event where Seychelles has improved over the years. Although Georgie Cupidon and Juliette Ah-Wan lost 2-0 to Poland they gave the Poles a good match especially in the second set losing 21-18.

It is clear that some sporting events which were not being given the attention they deserved for a while now has been slowly showing their worth such as badminton, table tennis, sailing and weightlifting. Meanwhile other sports where many investments had been made like athletics, football and volleyball there has been little progress.

This shows that the structures in place for high level sports should be relooked at so that many more high level sportsmen can be produced and hopefully qualify for big competitions like the Olympic games.

When looking at the African teams who have qualified for the games, one can but ponder upon whether Seychelles will ever be able to compete with these countries. They are bigger and most of them with many more resources than us. But their biggest advantage is the willingness to strive what ever the cost and these athletes are highly motivated.

One such example is Ethiopia, the country itself has and is still facing many economical difficulties but the Ethiopian athletes are determined to prove that they will always be a force to be reckoned with.

After the CJSOI, many promises have been made to invest in our young sportsmen from our leaders. As usual we do hope that they are not empty ones that follow major events organized on home ground.