Rwanda Golf national team manager Joseph Semwaga is confident that they are poised to win the Talent in Africa Region IV Golf Tournament due in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from June 5-11.
Organized annually under the auspices of the R&A (World’s Golf governing body) and African Golf Confederation, the highly-anticipated regional golf event will bring together national golf teams from member countries Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Ethiopia to contest in a four-day challenge.
The 2023 edition was organized by the Ethiopian Golf Association and will be hosted at the esteemed Addis Ababa Golf Club, providing a picturesque backdrop for the players to exhibit their skills and compete at the highest level with Rwandan golfers ready to represent the country with pride and determination.
Semwaga emphasized that his charges have had adequate preparations and they are going all out to win a laurel in the regional event.
"My expectations from the team is to do well, we want to win the competition,” Semwaga told Times Sport before the team departed for Addis Ababa.
"We had adequate training for the past one month. We had screening and each week we removed some of the players. We are among the best in the region and I am optimistic we can win the tournament.”
This year’s preparation and participation has been majorly supported by the Ministry of Sports besides various corporate and individual well-wishers among whom CIMERWA has made a major financial contribution towards the logistics and participation of the national team for the tournament in Ethiopia.
"We started supporting and sponsoring Golf in 2017 and it has been great so far. We have even managed to make giant strides into countries such as Ethiopia. Our aim is to help the sport grow in Rwanda and I think we are on course,” said CIMERWA Marketing and Branding officer Suzan Kanyana.
The team going to Addis includes Alain Niyonkuru, Emmanuel Rutayisire, Jean d’Amour Hitayezu and skipper Felix Dusabe who stressed that he and his teammates are hungry for success before saying that all their eyes are on the championship.
"We are very well prepared, we just need to be focused, determined and put into use what our manager has taught us. I am confident we can come home with the trophy," Dusabe said before departing for Ethiopia ahead of the tournament.