Malawi athletes have flopped at the on-going African Youth Games in Algiers, Algeria where they failed to qualify in their respective heats.
Donald Chavula missed the qualifying berth in 100 metres (m) after finishing fourth out of seven athletes on Wednesday.
Moneyi Chingayipe also failed to qualify after finishing on 13th out of 14 in 3000m heat.
Dalitso Gunde came fifth out of seven in his 400m heat. Top three athletes qualify for next round of the race.
Commenting on the results, Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) spokesperson Kathyrina Phiri, though dismayed by the results, described it as a learning platform.
“For Moneyi [Chingaipe], she has slacked as her personal best is 11.01 minutes, but in Algeria she managed to clock 11.07 minutes. It is a setback. On the other hand, for Donald Chavula, he has beaten his personal best time which was 11:34 seconds but now it is 11:13 seconds. That gives hope of improvement,” she said.
Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) general secretary Frank Chitembeya has expressed hope that Chavula might be considered for the Argentina Youth Olympics on solidarity grounds.
“He clocked good time and he might be considered despite finishing out of the top three positions,” he said.
