Team Malawi was destined to finish its Commonwealth Games medal drought on the 2010 New Delhi Games however the efforts of the late athlete Mike Tebulo resulted in useless, Malawi News Sport can reveal.
Renowned athletics coach Francis Munthali has made a startling declare, alleging that Tebulo completed third throughout the 42-kilometre occasion however missed the rostrum end recognition on technicalities.
Key Team Malawi officers have been in no present to lodge an official grievance inside 24 hours of the race as stipulated by the competitors’s guidelines.
Munthali claimed Team Malawi officers have been both engaged with different duties or went for sightseeing, which restricted the workforce’s probabilities of securing a medal.
“The late Tebulo had finished third during the marathon but he was erroneously placed in fourth position. At that moment, I was the only one with the athlete. I remember vividly that coaches from Kenya and other countries were congratulating me for Tebulo’s exploits as he matched Kenya finishing third.
“Upon reaching the running track I was told that Tebulo had ended in fourth position. As such I was told to lodge a complaint for the officials to review our case. However, Malawi was supposed to pay $150 to review our case. My colleagues from Kenya encouraged me to pay since they believed that Team Malawi had a strong case. Unfortunately, I had no money and back then the phones were not handy to seek immediate attention. We had travelled to the venue without Team Malawi officials. I presume that our officials might have been busy with other activities or perhaps went sightseeing,” he stated.
Munthali stated his efforts to get assist from Team Malawi officers have been futile as 24 hours elapsed earlier than submitting an official grievance.
“By then, Malawi’s drought for a Commonwealth Games medal was at 24 years but now we are talking of about 40 years. It is painful that we did not get our medal,” he stated.
However, Malawi Olympic Committee (Moc) Secretary General Henry Sakala, stated the claims have been unfounded because it has taken over 10 years to be made.
“We neither dispute nor agree with the claims. In athletics, it was possible to get a clear result because they use cameras. One other thing that also matters in athletics is the finish. That is why we have a photo-finish system determining winners during a tight race.
“It is strange that 24 hours elapsed before the coach relayed the message to the officials to act. We had to follow the rules just like in any other competition,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Sakala stated Team Malawi might need had a powerful case which may have helped scale back medal drought.
“When we travel we urge officials to be proactive. Such an incident, if it happened, was enough to call for an emergency action,” he stated.
Team Malawi has three Commonwealth Games medals, all bronzes, with the final podium end coming in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1986, when Lyton Mphande and Kondowe ended third of their respective division’s contests.
Boxer Tatu Chionga received Malawi’s first Commonwealth Games medal in 1970’s.