GABORONE, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Botswana scooped women doubles silver medal of tennis at the on-going Region 5 Youth Games here on Tuesday.
The team comprising of Leungo Monnayoo and South Africa-based Tshegofatso Tsiang produced a battling performance before losing 7-5, 6-4 to South Africa's team of Kleinhans Deien and Zungu Ntokozo in the final on Monday at the National Tennis Center.
Speaking in a post-match interview, the team's coach Phenyo Matong said the girls played very well and had opportunities to win the match.
Matong said they were at one point leading by 5-2 in the first set, but ended up losing from committing a lot of mistakes.
Matong said the team lacked international exposure, especially Leungo, who is currently playing locally.
He said the team deserved to be in the final, but it was unfortunate that they did not take the gold medal, which was their target, but they played to their best capability.
Commenting on their play, Tshegofatso said the game was tough as their opponents were more focused.
She pointed out that they rushed to get points instead of taking time with their returns, hence losing a lot of opportunities.
"We wanted to take the gold medal, but South Africa was too strong to handle, so we are a bit disappointed, but we take comfort in that we made it to the finals," she said.
South Africa won gold medal, Botswana silver and Zimbabwe bronze.