The Buhera-born player, crowned Zimbabwe’s best person with a disability in 2008, 2009 and 2010, had set qualification for London as his short-term goal and said this week that he was thrilled to have achieved it.
Although he did not get the number of games that would grant him automatic qualification, his ambition saw him qualify through a bipartite invitation from the International Paralympic Committee and the International Tennis Federation.
“The invitation is given to deserving athletes who could not qualify directly due to different circumstances such as lack of resources and I am glad that I was chosen as one of those,” Mharakurwa told The Zimbabwean this week.
“I am excited about London – and would like to thank The Zimbabwean for the support and encouragement you guys kept giving me.” Mharakurwa, weaned from basketball and introduced to tennis by Bulawayo-based coach Petros Ndlovu, also wants to reach the top 10 International Tennis Federation.
Three years ago, he launched Goal-London 2012 Campaign – an appeal for sponsorship that would enable him to reach his targeted number of games.
Post published in: Sport