The African Union Sports Council (Ausc) has hailed Malawi for successfully hosting the Region 5 Youth Games which concluded on Sunday in Lilongwe.

Ausc Region 5 chief executive officer Stanley Mutoya said this during a press conference to mark the end of the Games on Sunday at Bingu National Stadium.

He said the games were meant to develop and nurture athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Said Mutoya: “We had laid Paris via Accra with stopover in Lilongwe vision soon after the games in Lesotho and the games in Malawi have kept that vision on course.

Chimwendo Banda: The Games were a success

“You will see these young people competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Games. This is the age-group we targeted as a region.

“In Lesotho, we deliberately chose the age group from 15 to 16 so that they can be here and continue to sharpen. By 2024, they will be at a prime age to represent our region at the Olympics. These athletes will bring medals to Africa.”

He said Ausc was happy that the country contributed immensely towards transformation of people through the event.

Said Mutoya: “We are glad as a region that Malawi has achieved the goal on a sporting level and also development. The games will leave a legacy with long-term benefits for the youth of Malawi in terms of infrastructure like the Griffin Saenda Indoor Sports Complex and the Aquatic Centre.

“These facilities will benefit the youth through tournaments.”

He also said the games have put Malawi on the map.

“Right now, Malawi is the focus of the world through broadcasting and tourism as a safe destination of choice from the tourism point of view,” said Mutoya.

He hailed Malawi Government for its huge investment in sports infrastructure development.

Minister of Youth and Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda was equally excited about the successful hosting of the Games.

He said: “We had challenges here and there, but games were a success. We are grateful to Malawi leadership and the people of Malawi in general, including the media.

“Patronage was good throughout the games. Businesses were booming, countries were united. We are grateful to all countries that came to partcipate. We also thank the local organising committee volunteers, security personnel and the media for contributing towards the success of the games.

“On the sporting part, we have done better compared to the way we performed in Lesotho. We have won more medals,” he said.

On medals, there has been confusion with Ausc attributing 44 medals to Team Malawi, but Malawi National Council of Sports put the number at 37.

The medals were two gold, 10 silver and 25 bronze, won in nine codes, namely taekwondo, boxing, judo, paralympics, e-sport, athletics, basketball, football and volleyball.

Ironically, at the previous games in Lesotho, Malawi also bagged two gold and 10 silver. This time around though, there has been an improvment in the number bronze medals.

Four disciplines, namely lawn tennis, netball, gymnastics and swimming failed to win medals. This was a slight improvement from last year when Malawi won 29 medals and finished ninth overall.

South Africa emerged overall winners with 113 medals, including 62 gold.

Zambia were second with 62 medals, including 22 gold, Angola came third with 17 gold, Zimbabwe had 12 gold. Botswana also bagged 12 gold.

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