By Otniel Hembapu
WINDHOEK – Secretary-General of the Namibia Paralympic Committee (NPC) Penandino Kandjii is oozing confidence this year will be a much bigger and better year for Namibian paralympians, where she aims to take NPC to greater heights.
In a brief interview with New Era Sport yesterday, Kandjii expressed satisfaction with last year’s performance, which saw the likes of Lahja Ishitile and Johanna Benson winning bronze medals in the women’s T12 100-metre and T37/38 long jump events at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Namibian paralympians have in recent times emerged head and shoulders above the rest, so far proving to be the only sport code that delivers decent results whenever participating internationally, despite all the odds stacked against these athletes.
Last year also saw young para-athletes such as Anna Kambinda and Johanna Katjikuru, to mention a few, coming through the ranks and closely following the shadows of Benson, Ishitile, Johannes Nambala and Ananias Shikongo, among other stars.
“With a few World Championship Games and the All Africa Games lined up for this year, I’m positive our athletes will reach their full potential and make Namibia proud on the international arena. Last year was a good year but most [of] our best athletes did not get a chance to participate, as the events on the Paralympics calendar were very limited. So, this is our year to shine again,” said Kandjii.
“Despite the few challenges, I think last year was a great year for us and I have to thank the entire NPC executive for the hard work and job well done, but this year requires more hard work and dedication in order to take our athletes to greater heights,” concluded the veteran astute administrator.