The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S national champion for the Under-18 and Under-20 100m and 200m sprint events, Panashe Nhenga has set sights on making a lasting impression at the African Junior Championships to be held in April in Zambia.
The end of 2022 was not really what the talented Hillcrest College deputy head boy had looked forward to after suffering a hamstring injury ahead of the recent Regional Games held in Lilongwe, Malawi from December 8 to 10.
Apart from the hamstring pull, the 17-year-old former Baring Primary School learner who is now going into Upper Six at Hillcrest College was down with an undisclosed ailment, but still somehow managed to snatch a medal to add to the 18 that Zimbabwe athletes brought from the competitions in Malawi.
Zimbabwe, under the guidance of head coach, Cuthbert Nyasango (Olympian) ended in fourth position out of 10 countries that took part in the Regional Games.
Nhenga said: “I have not yet fully recovered, but I am almost there. I hope in a few days I will be resuming training. I did not perform up to my expectations during the Games in Malawi because I suffered a hamstring injury and also got sick.
“This greatly affected my performance, but I am happy that I managed to soldier on under the difficult circumstances to get a silver medal.”
He is now looking forward to the prestigious and fiercely competitive African Junior Championships.
“Now the goal is African Junior Championships next year in April in Zambia and l have already qualified in both the 100m and 200m according to CAA standards.
“There are other competitions that will come before the Africa Junior Championships and I hope to use those as preparations for the Africa Junior Championships,” said Nhenga.
Nhenga secured qualification for the 2023 African Junior Championships way back in March this year after clocking 10.57 in the 100 dash and 21.52 for the 200 sprint event.
