Water polo goalie debuts for SA at world champs

Boksburg resident Olufunke Gando (18) made her international debut for the senior women’s national water polo team during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

She took her bow in South Africa’s 24-2 loss to Greece in their group C match opener on July 16.

The teenager was part of the 13-women squad that notched one win out of six matches in the competition. Their win was a 12-9 defeat of Argentina in their second group phase game.

They also lost 24-2 to Italy in their final round robin match.

The ladies lost all their knock-out matches, going down 21-6 to Canada in the round of 16, 20-6 to France in the classification match and 25-6 to New Zealand in the placement game, to finish in 12th place in the competition.

Gando started partaking in water polo in Grade Five at St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls. Because of her perseverance and love for the sport, she won a scholarship to Crawford International Lonehill in Sandton where she made her mark.

“I’ve been playing water polo for the past seven years. I believe this is simply the starting point of my career,” she said before the world champs.

“From the moment I began playing, water polo became everything and more to me. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever anticipate I would be representing my country in the ladies team for a sport I love.”

The goalkeeper also has national colours in the junior ranks after representing the country in the EU Nations Junior Women U17 Water Polo Cup in the Czech Republic last year.

She will also be part of the SA U20 team that will compete in the World Aquatics U20 Water Polo Championships in Portugal in September.

Gando has earned a scholarship to further her studies at Salem University in West Virginia in the USA where she will also get an opportunity to play water polo at the highest level.

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