Windhoek
The name Hansina Hinda, spouse of prominent Windhoek lawyer Gerson Hinda, certainly rings a bell in the annals of Namibian sporting folklore. Those who have been keenly following local sports would remember her as an astute athlete and netballer of note.
The cat-footed sports-crazy woman whose looks can be easily mistaken for a movie star announced her arrival in the sporting arena as one of the finest netballers to have played the game in our neck of the woods and also proved herself a mean sprinter on the athletic track.
Unlike many other athletes who simply disappear into obscurity upon retirement, Hinda has surprisingly resurfaced on the greens, swinging golf clubs like a seasoned golfer in a fashion that would even leave the great Tigers Woods green with envy.
Handicapped 20, Hinda has encroached what was previously perceived as or rather reserved as a sacred leisure pastime for the elites and is now beating the implementers of the game hands down at their own game – giving her fellow female competitors a taste of their own medicines.
Hinda spearheaded the quartet of amateur golfers representing Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) to unprecedented heights at the recently concluded ICT Minister’s Golf Day.
In an effort to vigorously encourage women’s empowerment, event organisers have committed to include a special category in the repertoire for the entrants that enroll the largest number of female participants.
The NWR team was the proud recipients of vouchers from the same company, as they returned the compliment to sponsors by snatching the prize as the team with the most female golfers with a commendable nett score of 103.
Overall champions of the inaugural edition of the newly introduced annual golf day, Momentum Insurance, walked away with air tickets courtesy of Air Namibia (105). Each one of the four-member team will be allowed to travel to any destination of their preferred choice within the airline’s regional routes.
A joyful MICT Minister Tjekero Tweya, expressed satisfaction with the large turnout of entrants on the maiden edition of Minister’s Golf Day: “When the idea was first conceived, it was all about engagement and I’m glad to inform you that it went beyond our expectations.
“I must sincerely applaud the corporate businesses, because we did not have to engage in unnecessary arm-twisting in our efforts to convince them to come on board. I can assure the general public out there, this is just the beginning of a long journey.”
Tweya further added that the aim of the Golf Day is to create a platform that will bring people from all walks of life together and share ideas, potentially leading to salient business agreements. The minister says golf has the potential to unite people with opposing views on social and political issues.