Kamera shines in gendaball tourney
Fifteen-year-old Austin Kamera emerged as the best player in a gendaball tournament which attracted eight teams in Zingwangwa Township, Blantyre, on Saturday.
He led Team B, which also had Arthur Ngalande and Mwayi Kondowe to register an incredible 2 900 points, while their runners-up, Team A had 1 750 points.
Kamera, who has just completed his secondary education at Chimwankhunda Secondary School in Blantyre, was a marvel to watch after claiming 900 points which inspired his team to victory.
“It was the first time that I was playing this game at competitive level and I am excited to have led my team to victory in this relatively new sport.
“It is an interesting sport and I have fallen in love with it because it is fiercely competitive and exciting,” said Kamera.
The sport’s country coordinator Hamilton Kadyeremwana said they are impressed with the level of momentum the sport has gained.
“We had over 40 players taking part today, a sign that the sport is being embraced, especially by the youth,” he said.
Gendaball, a relatively new sport invented by a Malawian Francis Mwalabu in 2013, is set to be launched officially later this month.
It is played using a soft ball, slightly bigger than the size of a tennis ball, which is thrown directly onto a board, comprising 16 holes of varying sizes and point-values. The ball is thrown from a playing court comprising 10 throw stations, grouped at four distance levels from the board.
It is a game of target-shooting, which is highly competitive and smart in its play execution. Players compete by aiming the ball at holes of their choice and accumulating points based on the value of the targeted holes and the value of the distance levels. The game has a total of 42 shots and can yield a maximum of 61 200 points. n
