Sports stars flying SA flag

SOUTH African athletes have returned home after flying the country’s flag high at international sporting events.

Lythe Pillay took gold in the 400 metres final at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, while table tennis players Danisha Patel and Chetan Nathoo participated in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the UK.

Pillay, 19, from Benoni, who clocked in at 45:28, said he had high expectations because he wanted to better his performance from last year, when he placed fourth.

“It has been a roller-coaster of emotions. The American athlete was the favourite with the fastest time going in. But in the final, I knew anything could happen.”

He said this year he knew what kind of pressure to expect.

Pillay made the international circuit last year when he participated in the World Relays in Poland, the 4x4 relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.

“The Commonwealth Games and World Champs are among the competitions we would like to participate in but it all depends on the programme. And in the Olympic Games I would like to race in the individual 400 metres. It’s all about maintaining the constant growth and increase in performance, and picking the great opportunities,” he said.

Pillay thanked his mother, Beverly, for being his biggest supporter, and his coach, Lindi du Plessis.

“My coach has been the architect behind everything. She co-ordinates the season and designs the training programme,” said Pillay, who is also studying for a BSC in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Johannesburg.

Patel described her first Commonwealth Games as exciting.

“To be standing among the other South African athletes who are the best at their sport was definitely a proud moment. Not to mention meeting some of the top stars in the other countries. I knew the competition was going to be tough so all my matches were good losses and a learning experience.

“The only other tournament of this magnitude that I attended, or bigger

than the Commonwealth Games and second best to the Olympics, was the World Student Games in Russia-kazan in 2015,” said the Johannesburg biokineticist.

Patel said in the team events, they had defending champions India as well as Fiji and Guyanan.

“We came third in our group stage after a tough loss against Guyana. We lost to India 3-0 and beat Fiji 3-0. In the singles event, I came first in my group stage after beating Kenya and Jamaica. I then lost in the round of 64 against Canada,” she said.

Nathoo, 32, a mechanical engineer from Alberton in Gauteng, said words could not describe his emotions at his first Commonwealth Games.

“Making it to the Commonwealth Games itself is such a huge accomplishment and I cherished every second of it. It was such an honour walking with giants in the table tennis world,” said Nathoo.

He said they first competed in the team events and were grouped with Nigeria, Cyprus and Ghana.

“We did not qualify out of our groups but had some great matches which could have gone either way,” he said.

Nathoo said many people thought of table tennis as ping pong.

“One needs to be super fit, agile and have a strong mind to play this sport. If more money is spent in this sport, the level of play will definitely increase and we would be able to compete with the best. It’s simple: in life if you want anything to grow or succeed

you need to invest in it.

“We have the World Table Tennis Championship next year in Durban, where the top athletes in the world will be on our doorstep. So a lot to look forward to. Many more hours of training still need to be done,” said Nathoo.