South African Wheelchair Tennis Champion – Kgothatso Montjane was welcomed as she beamingly made her arrival at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday.
The excitement, loud cheers, flashing lights of cameras and hearty clapping was the order of the winter morning as the sportswoman emerged into the terminal, after showing her splendid performance at the Wimbledon over the weekend.
Tennis Player – Kgothatso Montjane and Yuj Kamiji have triumphed the Wimbledon Ladies’ Wheelchair Doubles title, which is their third Grand Slam title, that they are receiving together, on Sunday.
The numero uno seeds defeated Dutch duo – Diede De Groot and Jiske Griffioen 6-4, 6-4, to secure the Wimbledon Ladies’ Wheelchair Doubles title in London, United Kingdom.
While giving the interview, Montjane told the journalists that her victory has not sunk in yet, especially after the duo was named silver finalists last year.
She added further to her words that she is still digesting, but she’s sure it will sink in as it’s a great feeling. The newly crowned champion matches are gruelling and require professionalism to play at this level.
The duo champion said that they are trying to fight as a team. They wanted to win this one while considering their performance last year.
After the match last year, they felt that they needed to give it the best. They felt they lacked the strategy, so all can imagine how badly they wanted it.
Montjane had her leg amputated at the age of 12 due to a congenital disorder. She described her win as a confidence booster as she prepares for the Paralympic Games in August in Paris.
South African Tennis Player Montjane first picked up the racket, when she was 19. She thanked her team for motivating her. She said, “I’m having so many blows and they’re the ones who try to keep me motivated so that I keep my head down and continue to work hard. I keep saying I’m winning the wrong Slam but it’s still a great achievement. The plan is still to win the Singles title.”
The player aged 38, believes that she is closer to winning the singles and that all she needs to do is to put her head down and keep working hard towards her goal.
The athlete became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon in 2018 and she reached the championships’ singles and doubles finals for the first time.
Montjane motivated the budding players and said, “To the young ones, they must keep believing and work hard. Their dreams are valid and they must believe in the world of possibility. Their turn will come.”