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Team SA fall short of the podium on quiet day in Birmingham

commonwealth games05 August 2022 20:52| © SuperSport
By:Karien Jonckheere
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Kyle Blignaut © Gallo Images

On a lean day for Team South Africa at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, all eyes turned to former junior shot put world champion Kyle Blignaut to see whether he could perhaps claim a medal for the team.

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But the 22-year-old was not at his best, and his second-round effort of 19.23m proved to be his furthest of the night and only good enough for seventh place in the event won by New Zealander Tom Walsh with a heave of 22.26m.

Blignaut’s throw was well down on his personal best of 21.21m which booked him a ticket to last year’s Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished sixth in the final with 21m – a distance that would have earned him the bronze medal in Birmingham.

Speaking about the competition where he struggled to register more than two legal throws, Blignaut explained: “I started horribly [18.78m] and then I feel I progressed well but my last four throws were fouls.

“The last two were a bit better but I just couldn’t stay in the circle. They weren’t medal contention throws but they were at least low 20s, high 19s which would have been a better result, but that was the best I could do today.

“It wasn’t the performance I wanted. But at least the season is done now so I can get back to work and train for next season and learn from the mistakes I made and make sure I don’t make them for the future. I’m still young, I think I still have at least two or three more Commonwealth Games left and I want to medal in those.”

As for his decision to forgo the recent World Championships in Oregon to focus his efforts on the Commonwealth Games, Blignaut added: “It’s something that happens and you can’t look back at the past and regret something. You must learn from it and come back with a bang.

“There’s another world champs next year so that’s why I didn’t feel bad skipping this one so I’ll just get back to the drawing board with my coach and focus on maybe getting on the podium at world champs next year.”

LESSING JUST MISSES OUT ON WRESTLING BRONZE

Over at the Coventry Arena, after defeating Samoa’s Taitaifono Tamati and England’s Syerus Eslami but then going down to Pakistan’s Muhammad Inam in his semifinal match, Alberton wrestler Edward Lessing had the chance to fight Australia’s Jayden Lawrence for a bronze medal in the 86kg freestyle event.

It was closely fought encounter with Lawrence just edging it 12-11 to take the bronze and with that Australia’s first wrestling medal in 12 years.

SA NETBALLERS STUNNED BY UGANDA

Already disappointed not to have reached the semifinals, like they did at the 2019 World Cup, the SA netball team suffered another blow when they were beaten 54-48 by Uganda in the playoff for fifth place.

The lacklustre Proteas were already on the back foot from the first quarter and were 30-21 down by halftime. They produced a better third quarter (which they actually won by five goals) and it seemed a fightback could be on the cards. But they were once again subdued in the final period, handing the elated Ugandans the six-goal victory.

"It's sad to say but this was definitely one of the worst Commonwealth Games for us,” admitted SA captain Bongi Msomi afterwards. “We did manage to grab some wins but there were still some struggles here and there.

"We have to go back and work hard. Sport is like this, you win some and sometimes you lose some. It's quite a big disappointment I have to say.”

The result is particularly disappointing with the South Africans hoping to make a statement ahead of hosting next year’s Netball World Cup in Cape Town.

"We wanted to beat or match our ranking [fifth] – that didn't happen and at this level you don't have time to dwell on that. You've got to go back, work and come back hard," said Msomi.

Meanwhile, it was a massive result for Uganda, whose fifth-place finish was their best ever result at the Commonwealth Games.

Ugandan goal shooter Mary Cholhok said: "It was amazing how we played. We were patient, held the ball and everyone carried out their individual responsibilities. I’m proud of the performance and acquiring the fifth position means the world to us.

"This needs to be the start of developing netball and taking it seriously. We are not at the very highest level - we don’t have a training ground and the pay is really low, so hopefully this will show people that we’re actually worth it,” added Cholhok.

"We need the government to step up and to help netball run smoothly. There’s a lot of potential, but there’s a lot of things we lack. If those things are in place, we can create a massive difference in not just netball, but the lives of girls in Uganda."

SA HOCKEY WOMEN FINISH SEVENTH

Earlier in the day, the South African women’s hockey team secured a seventh-place finish after defeating Wales 1-0 in their final playoff match.

Lilian du Plessis fired in the vital goal in the third quarter after a fine cross from Onthatile Zulu.

The SA men’s team, meanwhile, will take on India in the semifinal on Saturday.

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