Sports

Retired SA tennis great asks Wimbledon for apology over a 52-year-old grievance

Published

11 months ago

June 30, 2023

A retired South African tennis player, Hoosen Bobat, who was denied a chance to compete in the Wimbledon classic in the 1970s, has demanded a public apology from the organisers of the tournament 52 years after.

Bobat who was a budding tennis star had qualified for the junior tournament in 1971 at a time when apartheid was at its peak but was denied the chance to participate in the event after his invitation was revoked just one week before the tournament.

Now 52 years after the denial, he is demanding that the organisers and the sport’s international governing body tender an apology to him.

“After all those years of training and practice, I had the opportunity to play in the greatest stage in the world,” Bobat told the BBC Newsday in an interview on Friday.

“When my entry was accepted, there was great joy in Africa among black players. It would have been a gateway to my future tennis career,” he said.

According to the embittered Bobat, the real reason he was blocked from participating in the Wimbledon tournament was because of racism and the apartheid regime in South Africa which was actively supported by the British government despite international opposition to it.

He said at the time non-white players in South Africa were not allowed to play against their white counterparts, while matches at all-white tennis centres were watched from caged sections.

“Even now, nothing much has changed. There are less black – which we define as Indian, coloured and black – tennis players now than then,” he lamented.

Bobat’s demand for apology has been backed by two British MPs and anti-apartheid veterans, Peter Hain and Jeremy Corbyn, who raised the matter in parliament, while Wimbledon’s organisers, the AELTC, and tennis’ international governing body, the ITF, say they are reviewing the information.

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Sports

Egyptian midfielder Elneny announces departure from Arsenal after eight years

Published

1 hour ago

May 18, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Egypt and Arsenal midfielder, Mohamed Elneny, has announced his departure from the club at the end of this season after eight years at the North London club.

Elneny who made the announcement in a video on Friday, said he will depart the club following the expiration of his contract.

Elneny joined Arsenal from Swiss side Basel in 2016 and made 161 appearances but in the last two seasons, the Egyptian midfielder has struggled for playing time due to a combination of injuries and loss of form.

In 2019, under former manager Unai Emery, he was loaned out to Besiktas for the 2019-20 campaign, where he played 36 times for the Turkish side.

Upon returning to Arsenal, he found a more prominent role under new manager Mikel Arteta.

Elneny’s contract was due to expire at the end of last season, but Arsenal opted to extend it by an additional year. With this extension now coming to an end, it has been widely reported that the 31-year-old will leave the club this summer.

In the video on X, Elneny said:

“Gooners, I’m here today to send you a message. To say goodbye and thank you for everything you’ve done for me, the love, the support, and the kindness. I am really going to miss you so much and you will be in my heart forever.

“I wanted to say how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I will never forget the way you supported me. I am going to see you on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium to say goodbye face to face.”

He added that he would bid farewell to fans at the Emirates on Sunday as Arsenal host Everton in their final league match.

Though Elneny did not say where he would go after leaving Arsenal, it is believed he will be heading to the Saudi Arabian league to join a horde of elite players who have made the Saudi League the new football haven.

Sports

Ethiopian marathon legend Bekele returns to Olympics after 12-year absence

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

After a 12-year absence on the international race circuit, Ethiopian marathon legend, Kenenisa Bekele, has announced that he will return for the 2024 Olympic Games in July after he was named in a 10-member team on Thursday.

The 41-year-old Bekele last competed in the London Games in 2012 when he finished fourth in the men’s 10,000m before he was overlooked for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

His surprise return to the Ethiopian team came after a remarkable second-place finish at the London Marathon in April which was enough to earn him a place for the Paris Olympics in a squad which also features women’s world record holder Tigist Assefa.

In his heydays, Bekele won three Olympic golds in the 5,000m and 10,000m, and is now expected to renew his rivalry with reigning Olympic champion and former world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya who was also named in the Kenyan team.

In August 2003, Kipchoge dusted his Ethiopian rival when the two met for the first time at the Paris World Championships, holding on to win the 5,000m race, pipping Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj into second place while Bekele finished third.

Bekele made his marathon debut in April 2014 when he produced the sixth-fastest run over the distance in Paris but his career has been hampered by injuries.

Other members of the Ethiopian men’s team for the Olympics are Sisay Lemma, the Valencia marathon champion, and Deresa Geleta, while 2023 New York marathon champion and 2022 world champion Tamirat Tola and Eusedin Mohammed, are standby reserves.