Softball star represents Soweto in Argentina
"New Zealand and Japan get paid in their country to do this while we have to come back to a job."
Tsatsi Tlhabanelo (25) from Mofolo recently returned back to SA shores, after being selected from the Gauteng’s softball provincial team as part of a National Squad that represented the country in the international Softball World Cup in Argentina last month.
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The men’s under 23 tournament which was initially scheduled to take place in 2021 was put on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions across the world. The tournament saw 12 countries compete for the world championship in a series of games from April 15 until April 24.
The young softball player who is currently a VUT team member told Urban News the experience was a dream come true.
“When I found out I was very excited and it had not sunk in until I was on the flight. I had come very far playing for many years so the moment was a full circle in my books.
“Having to wear the national colours and playing at that level especially since it is an amateur sport in our country,” he said.
Tlhabanelo started playing softball, back home when he was younger as part of the Joburg Stars and over the years, displaying outstanding performance in the sport, managed to play for the Vaal University of Technology, through a sports merit scholarship.
“I have continued playing for the softball club. My life has been basically softball, I remember the moment when we played our first game against Cech Republic, what an awesome feeling,” he recalled.
“Just that experience alone has added to my game in terms of knowledge. We went up against teams that pitch harder and it was an experience that will go a long way.”
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The South African softball team currently sits at number 14 on the world rankings and number one on the African continent, according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
The South African team which competed against Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Singapore and Czechia, came in last position, taking the 12 place at the end of the tournament. Tlhabanelo said this was due to the different circumstances of resources, training and support of the sport in South Africa.
“That’s the highest level of competition in the game of softball and It was quite difficult but, after a couple of games yo
u realise it is the same game we know back home.
“But it’s just different on how they prepare and how supportive the structures they have. For example, most of them arrived in Argentina at least a month before us.
“New Zealand and Japan get paid in their country to do this while we have to come back to a job,” he explains.
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Speaking about why young people needed to go after their dreams, he said, “I’d like to say to anyone that everything pays off.
The only thing is to put in time and effort. You know, going to games, traveling to Kempton Park every Saturday all these years and most recently before I left for Argentina, I was working night shift and playing softball during the day so as cliché as it may sound, it will pay off.”
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