Team SA started Sunday at the 13th African Games with 13 medals – five gold, two silver and five bronze. That had left them placed second on the overall medals table behind Egypt. They quickly made their intentions felt.
Johanita Scholtz won the badminton women’s singles, in a bid to regain the title she won in Morocco in 2019, while the swimmers quickly got amongst the medals with Simone Moll winning the women’s 100m breaststroke.
Scholtz also won a bronze medal with her partner Caden Kakora in the semi-finals of the Mixed doubles after losing 2-0 to Egypt.
Elsewhere, in Women’s Cricket, Sheshnie Naidu claimed four wickets for 13 runs as South Africa bowled out Nigeria for 74 in their women’s T20 cricket match, and then Faye Tunnicliffe (45 off 34 balls) helped power Team SA into the semi-finals as they reached their target with six wickets down and 5.1 overs to spare.
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Opting to set a score after winning the toss, Nigeria had a solid start with openers Favour Eseigbe (17) and Esther Sandy (10) contributing to a 25/0 score after six overs.
The first breakthrough for South Africa came in the seventh over as SA U19 Women rising star Naidu found the outside edge of Sandy’s bat before quick thinking in the field between Nondumiso Shangase and Kayla Reyneke resulted in a run out of Eseigbe to leave Nigeria 43/2 after 10 overs.
With their tales up in the field, Team SA quickly picked up another trio of wickets with Shangase taking a diving catch to help Naidu claim her second of the match to remove Salome Sunday (5). This was before Reyneke made it three wickets for the game as she rearranged Blessing Etim’s (4) furniture prior to having Christabel Chukwuonye (0) brilliantly caught by Tunnicliffe to leave Nigeria 68/6 after 16 overs.
It soon became seven down for Nigeria as Naidu added a further scalp to her two wickets with the dismissal of Sarah Etim (4), caught behind by wicket-keeper Karabo Meso. Naidu then made it a memorable four-wicket haul after Udeh (0) skied a delivery for a comfortable catch for Tunnificlffe.
With Nigeria 71/8 after 17 overs, a run out of Adeshola Adekunie (1) by ‘keeper Meso as well as the wicket of Usen Peace (0) by Shangase (1/13) brought an end to Nigeria’s innings on 74 all out after 18.4 overs.
The experienced Tunnifcliffe and youngster Simone Lourens (6) then combined for 31 runs for the second wicket before Lourens was the next to fall for the Green and Gold, as South Africa ended their powerplay on 43/2, still needing 32 runs to win.
Despite the valiant fight shown by Nigeria, Team SA duo of Miané Smit (10*) and Leah Jones (4*) steered South Africa to a four-wicket triumph and a place in the semi-finals of the inaugural Women’s T20 Cricket event at the African Games.
At the end of the round-robin phase, Team SA topped Group A with four points, leading second-placed Nigeria by one point after Tanzania defeated Namibia by one wicket in the other group match.
South Africa will take on Kenya in the first semi-final on Monday, 11 March, at the Achimota Senior Secondary School from 09h30 local time (11h30 SAST).
Badminton
Mixed Doubles Semi-Finals
Bronze: Team SA Caden Kakora/Johanita Scholtz lost to Egypt 2-0
Women’s Singles Semi-Finals
Johanita Scholtz bt Fadilah Rafi (Uganda) 2-0
Women’s Singles Final
Gold: Johanita Scholtz bt Fadilah Rafi (Uganda)
Chess – Women’s Rapid Individual
Round 1: Anzel Laubscher beat Amerley Ayiku (Ghana) 1-0
Round 2: Anzel Laubscher lost to Wafa Shahenda (Egypt) 1-0
Round 3: Anzel Laubscher lost to Marie Tccetche (Ivory Coast) 1-0
Cricket
Nigeria 74 in 18.4 overs (Sheshnie Naidu 4-13, Kayla Reyneke 3-12)
Team SA 78-6 in 14.5 overs (Faye Tunnicliffe 45)
Team SA won by 4 wickets
Swimming
Women’s 200m Freestyle Heats
Hannah Mouton won her heat in 2:06.83 to qualify fastest for the final, with Catherine van Rensburg 2nd in the same 2:10.37 and qualified 3rd fastest for the final
Women’s 200m Freestyle Final
Silver: Hannah Mouton finished 2nd in 2:04.08, with gold going to Egypt’s Lojine Hamed (2:03.63)
Bronze: Catherine van Rensburg finished 3rd in 2:04.35
Women’s 100m Breaststroke Heats
Simone Moll won her heat in 1:09.41, while Georgia Els won her heat in 1:11.27. The two swimmers were comfortably the fastest two qualifiers into the final
Women’s 100m breaststroke Final
Gold: Simone Moll claimed the gold medal in 1:09.50
Silver: Georgia Els pushed Moll all the way to take silver in 1:09.91
Women’s 50m Butterfly Heats
Caitlin de Lange won her heat in 27.20 while Tamzyn Robson finished 5th in her heat in 29.54. De Lange qualified 2nd fastest for the final, while Robson was 15th overall and misses out
Women’s 200m Backstroke Heats
Leigh McMorran finished 4th in her heat in 2:30.88
4x100m Mixed Medley Relay
Team SA won their heat in 3:59.55, comfortably the fastest going into the final
Table Tennis
Women’s Doubles Round of 32
Team SA 1 Mushfiquh Kalam / Danisha Patel – bye
Team SA 0 Algeria 3: Lailla Edwards/Rochica Sonday lost to Lucie Mobarek/Lynda Loghraibi 7-11 7-11 9-11
Round of 16
Team SA 3 Zambia 1: Mushfiquh Kalam/Danisha Patel beat Mubanga Kunda/Latifa Nalavwe 11-13 11-1 11-4 11-6
Quarter-finals
Team SA 0 Nigeria 3: Mushfiquh Kalam/Danisha Patel lost to Fatimo Bello/ Offiong Edem 9-11 4-11 4-11
Wrestling
Women’s freestyle 62kg: Qualifying: Minette Kruger lost to Kolawale Omolayo (Nigeria) 8-0
Women’s freestyle 62kg: Repechage: Minette Kruger beat Eunice Mburu (Egypt) 6-0
Women’s freestyle 62kg: Final 3-5: Minette Kruger lost to Salmontou Coulibaly (Egypt) 6-0
Women’s freestyle 68kg: Quarter-final: Bea Meiring beat Emmanuella Karikari (Ghana) 4-0
Women’s freestyle 68kg: Final 3-5: Bea Meiring beat Samah Abdellatif (Egypt) 3-1
Women’s freestyle 76kg: Quarter-final: Lillian Mbena lost to Youin Amy (Ivory Coast) 10-0
Women’s freestyle 76kg: Final 3-6: Lillian Mbena beat Emilia Tassembedo (Burindi) 5-3
Main Photo Caption: Simone Moll was fastest to claim the Gold Medal in the Women’s 100m breaststroke final in Accra in Ghana on Sunday, 10 March, 2024 Photo: Roger Sedres via Team SA
Photo 2 Caption: Badminton’s Johanita Scholtz added another Africa Games Gold Medal for Team SA. Photo: Roger Sedres via Team SA
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