The two-time Grand Slam wheelchair tennis champion Lucas Sithole added to his accolades the Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA)’s Sportsman of the year with a disability on Saturday. The awards which celebrated the African excellence and comprised of 10 African states were announced last night at Birchwood Estate in Ekurhuleni.
Picture credit: Reg Caldecott
The Kwazulu-Natal star who holds 32 singles titles came out ahead of Namibia’s newest star and Special Olympics Games gold medalist Ruben Gowaseb and athletics T12 star Lucky Chitembe from Zimbabwe.
Sithole recorded his first grand slam title after winning the wheelchair quad singles title at the US Open tennis tournament in 2013, becoming the first man from Africa to win a singles US Open title of any kind. The world number three continued to shine when he was crowned quad wheelchair doubles champion with American David Wagner at the Australian Open in Melbourne early this year.
The 29-year-old said he was very happy to be recognized at this major awards for his outstanding performances in the sport at regional and international level. “I am really honoured for taking my first RASA award and will continue to be humble and work hard,” said Sithole.
