South Africa–based wheelchair tennis player Nyasha Mharakurwa will carry the country’s flag high at the London Olympics after he was nominated last week to represent Zimbabwe through the Bipartite Commission slot.
Mharakurwa failed to qualify through the normal procedures after he did not participate in the required number of international matches to compete at the global sporting event.
The Bipartite Commission slot invites athletes on special grounds in consultation with the local organisers based on international computer ranking, geographical location or other relevant information.
Wheelchair Tennis president Bernard Madzivire yesterday confirmed this new development to NewsDay Sport and said this did not come as a surprise because Mharakurwa was the best athlete in that category in the country.
“I am very happy that Zimbabwe is going to have a representative at the London Olympics for wheelchair tennis. Nyasha could have qualified long back if we had secured sponsorship to meet the required number of games.
“Though he qualified through the Bipartite Commission slot, we have no doubt that he is outstanding and we are confident that he will do his best,” he said.
Madzivire added that another athlete, Alexander Mukanda who is based in Harare, would also be nominated to participate at the world global sporting event.
