It was an afternoon of mixed fortunes for the Chawinga sisters.
There were tears of joy for Temwa as she celebrated winning the Chinese Women’s Super League title with her club Wuhan in her debut season after a 4-0 comprehensive demolition of dethroned champions Jiangsu Suning, the club that her elder sister Tabitha plays for.
On the other hand, there were tears of despair for Tabitha, whose club not only failed to defend the title, but she also fell short of retaining the golden boot which she won in the past two seasons.
Temwa somehow did it to perfection by drawing first blood with a sublime goal that had all the hallmarks of theatre and art—a magnificently executed curling volley which set up a one-sided finale.
To add extra spice, Temwa finished as the league’s second top scorer with 10 goals—seven behind the eventual winner—Zambian Barbra Banda—while Tabitha scored seven goals.
It really doesn’t get sweeter than this and Temwa could have been forgiven if at all she felt like flying, having turned fantasy into reality.
In an interview from her Wuhan base yesterday, Temwa could not hide her excitement.
She said: “It feels really good to win the title in only my first season. That was my dream when I came here and I am happy that it has worked out.
“It was all down to team spirit. We played as a team and I thank my teammates for making my debut season memorable. Over and above all, I thank God Almighty for His blessings.”
On whether she met Tabitha after the match, Temwa said: “No, I didn’t get a chance to meet her as we headed towards our respective dressing rooms, but I will probably get in touch with her later today and talk about the match.”
Asked if she felt sorry for her sister, the Wuhan forward chuckled and said: “Well, I would say I did, but when you get on the pitch it is serious business. You think about helping your team to win.”
Tabitha was not available for comment
This was the third time for Tabitha’s team to lose to Wuhan. They first lost 3-0 and 1-0 in previous matches.
