Midlands State University athletes proved that they are a force to be reckoned with on the Zimbabwe tertiary institutions sporting landscape as they once again dominated the Zimbabwe Tertiary Institutions Sports Union (ZITISU) games, held recently at Belvedere Teachers College, in Harare.
Participating under the Zimbabwe Universities Sports Association (ZUSA) banner, Midlands State University competed in various sporting disciplines such as soccer, golf, rugby, netball, basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, cricket, chess, darts, pool, table tennis, hockey and karate.
Midlands State University athletes made light of their opponents in various disciplines to claim an emphatic victory for both the University and ZUSA with an impressive medal tally of 14 gold, 7 silver and 2 bronze.
Competing against athletes from the Zimbabwe Teachers Colleges Sports Association (ZITCOSA) and Tertiary Education Sports Association of Zimbabwe (TESAZ) an amalgamation of polytechnic colleges, MSU scooped gold in the men’s rugby, men and women’s soccer, men’s basketball, men and women’s golf, netball, men and women’s table tennis, women’s volleyball, women’s pool, men’s hockey and men’s chess.
Despite narrowly missing out on the gold, the men’s pool, men’s handball, men’s volleyball and women’s tennis teams all managed to secure silver medals. Meanwhile, the women’s cricket team registered its place on the podium, with a bronze medal. The Karatekas, on the other hand, had a mixed bag of medals winning six gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze.
Commenting on the team MSU’s performance at the games, the University’s Director of Sports and Recreation, Mr J. Chivivi, who is also the ZITISU Council Deputy President, said Midlands State University has become a beacon in sport and applauded all teams for their sterling performance at the ZITISU games. He further noted that the team’s performance should inspire the University to develop more world class sports facilities.
The Director also highlighted that the University was now prepared to take the next step its sports development saying, ‘MSU is now ready for a sports academy or institute because our athletes are committed, dedicated and mature. For example, some of our athletes did not go for vacation but instead remained behind to train, using their own resources to meet their food and accommodation expenses, before they were joined by other for the official university sponsored camp, a week before the games’.
This year’s ZITCOSA games ran under the theme ‘Embracing Health and Wellness in Tertiary Institutions Through Sports’.
On behalf of the Entire University community, we would like to congratulate the Team MSU on a job well done. Makorokoto! Congratulations! Amhlope!
#MidlandsStateUniversity