SYDNEY MUBAIWA
GOKWE- Cheziya High School student, Allen Tungamira has hoisted the national flag high after he came third in the just ended Africa Schools International Chess championships held in Mombasa, Kenya.
Tungamira striked bronze after South Africa’s Soojay Jorah had scooped gold while his countryman Yan Weilun settled for silver.
Cheziya High School Head Tongesai Munyere praised the outstanding performance of their student expressing gratitude to stakeholders who contributed towards the milestone achievement.
“We are happy with the performance displayed by our athlete in Kenya by the name Allen Tungamira.
“He represented us very well in the just ended chess Africa competitions. What he did there is a result of serious commitment from a student, the coaches, the parents and officials from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and the Government.
“I want to thank the Government very well for its mantra of leaving no one and no place behind. As Gokwe South, one of the most ignored districts but because of the government’s mantra we are now on the limelight of positive reporting because of its support. They supported us very well in preparing the paperwork for the athlete to make it to Kenya. We also want to give credit to the Zimbabwe Chess Federation for its entire admin and management for supporting us in preparing this athlete to travel to Kenya.
“We want to thank the parents, the School Development Committee (SDC)and other stakeholders who contributed towards this milestone achievement,” he said.
Cheziya coach Blessing Jemani expressed pride over the success.
“This achievement is a crowning moment for the effort the boy has put into the game.
“He is a hard worker and this is inspiring to his other colleagues from the school.
Remember Mutendi won Botswana International U18 last year. We keep pushing and we now prepare for Africa youth, Botswana International to defend our title.
“We appreciate the support of the school development committee and administration for the support as it paid for the tour to Kenya,” he said.
Following the tough competition attracted from 90 players, Tungamira is confident that he will strike gold in his next tour.
“Ninety students were competing for this slot and I managed to come third. I want to thank those who made this possible. It was actually my first time to represent Zimbabwe and to be the country’s ambassador and coming back with such exciting results.
Next time it will be much bigger than this. I want to thank Cheziya Head Munyere, the coach Jemani, and others who contributed towards this success,” he said.
Zimbabwe sent a contigent of 14 chess players and Tungamira’s performance was the highest while Mashawa Danmore and Amith Boddapati narrowly missed podium positions settling on fourth and fifth places respectively.
