Revered top female boxer Anisha Bashir will compete with celebrated South African athlete Caster Semenya and Zimbabwean Wilfred Mashaya (martial arts) for the Sports Personality of the Year in the 2019 Regional Annual Sports Awards (Rasa).
She has also been nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year in the Southern Africa regional sports awards alongside Semenya and another athlete Lerato Sechele from Lesotho.
According to a statement from Rasa, the awards are slated for Windhoek, Namibia on May 25.
Bashir was also named 2018 overall Best Sports Personality of the Year in the Malawi Sport Awards which are organised by the Malawi National Council of Sports.
Others that have been nominated for the awards are Malawi Under-20 national netball team coach Christina Mkwanda-Msinji (Coach of the Year); athlete Moneyi Chingaipe (Junior Sportsperson of the Year) and chess player Blessings Kamanga (Junior Sportsperson of the Year).
In team awards, the Malawi Under-20 netball team has been nominated for the Sports Team of the Year alongside Women’s Fifa World Cup bound South Africa’s Banyana Banyana and Botswana athletics side.
Bashir, who is camping in Zimbabwe in preparation for her upcoming World Boxing Council (WBC) silver lightweight bout against Chantelle Cameron slated for June 28 in London, could not hide her excitement yesterday.
“I am really thrilled with the news. Just being recognised is an honour on its own and to be pitted against a superstar athlete like Caster is amazing.
“Words fail me, but it speaks a lot about the efforts I have put in to reach the level I am,” said the former African Boxing Union (ABU) super lightweight and Commonwealth British Empire champion.
Sports Council acting executive secretary Henry Mereka said the development is good news for the nation.
“To us as a nation it is a plus and we should be excited because making it to the finals in five categories is not easy and we should feel proud.
“This also shows that the introduction of the Malawi Sport Awards is bearing fruits and meeting its objective,” he said.
