Ali Moosa misses world tourney
By Ronald Mpaso:
Up-and-coming swimmer Mohammed Ali Moosa has been withdrawn from the list of swimmers to represent the country at next month’s Fina World Junior Swimming Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
According to Malawi Acquatic Union (Mau) official Cristina Yiannakis, Moosa is not eligible because he is too young for the competition.
The global event is for swimmers above 15 years and this means 14-year-old Moosa cannot join.
The development leaves Jessica Makwenda and Murray MacPherson as Malawi’s ambassadors at the competition.
Yiannakis said they were sad that Moosa would not make the trip, describing him as one of Malawi’s best players.
“We were following up with Fina [world swimming governing body] on approvals for our nominations and we received an email advising us that Moosa is too young for the competition.
“This would be our first World Junior Championship and it would have been great to have Moosa as well. But we have encouraged Moosa not to lose hope as there are more opportunities coming his way,” she said.
Yiannakis said Mau would continue supporting young swimmers to ensure that they excel in big competitions.
Ahead of the tournament, MacPherson is training in Australia while Makwenda is undergoing preparations locally.
Moosa’s parents had sponsored his training at Wahoo Club in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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