Malawi women football export Temwa Chawinga is expected to resume training with Chinese Women’s Super League outfit Wuhan next week after the city’s authorities yesterday lifted a 76-day lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The striker signed a two-year deal with the Chinese outfit in January after parting ways with Swedish second-tier league side Kvarnvedens IK, but her new lease of life in Asia suffered a blow when the Chinese City became the epicenter of the deadly global outbreak before spreading across the world.
The 21-year old was among the residents in the city that, according to the BBC, has endured the most extensive and toughest set of restrictions on the planet as “by mid February, nobody was allowed to leave their residential compounds”.
“It is a big relief that finally we are free to move and I will be able to play football again,” the former Blantyre Zero striker said.
Meanwhile, her elder sister and Malawi women’s football
national team captain Tabitha already started preparations with Chinese League champions Jiangsu Suning ahead of the 2020 season, which is expected to roll out in June.
“We are currently training as a team ahead of the new season. Tikumakananso bhobo,” said the 23-year-old, who retained the golden boot in the foreign land last season.
Currently, most countries worldwide, including Malawi, have suspended sporting activities and imposed strict measures to prevent the spread of the outbreak, which has so far claimed over 82 000 lives and registered over 1.4 million cases globally, according to yesterday’s update on www.worldometers.info.
At present, China has registered 81 802 cases and 3 333 deaths while Malawi has so far registered eight cases and a single death.
