Budding nine-year-old golfer Belinda Wanjiru Macharia is among those shortlisted to battle for the Most Promising girls’ category in the 2019 Safaricom Sports Personality Of Year Awards.
Belinda will battle it out with Harambee Starlets prodigy Genitrix Shikangwa, University of Nairobi’s Dynamites' player Faith Atieno and so is Africa Under-20 women’s 400m champion Mary Moraa.
Wanjiru, who ventured into golf at the age of four, first hit the headlines in January when she represented her school in the Banda
Trophy nine-hole event at Karen Country Club where she reigned supreme with a score of 20 Stableford points. She emerged nett winner at the Sigona Ladies Open in February and was also adjudged the gross winner thus settling for the bronze medal.
In July, she finished second at the NPA nine-hole event on 35 gross before representing the country at the World Championships in Pinehurst, USA, where she tied in position 41 out of 114 established golfers.
In what is expected to be a protracted battle in the category, Shikangwa is also determined to inscribe her name in the annals of the country’s sports scene.
The talented Vihiga Queens striker has captured the imagination of many with her scoring antics that are unmatched in the country. Shikangwa propelled Starlets to Cecafa women’s tournament title after beating hosts Tanzania 2-0 in the final.
She was also the leading goal scorer in the regional championships with ten goals—a feat which endeared her to many.
Shikangwa’s other attribute is scoring two crucial goals for Starlets thus enabling the team reach the penultimate round of the Olympic qualifiers besides notching the winning goal in the team’s 3-2 win over Ethiopia in a friendly match. She is the leading scorer for Starlets with 12 goals.
Atieno was instrumental in steering Dynamites to a top three finish in the national basketball premier league where she averaged 15 points per game and set a record of netting seven three-pointers in a single first half.
Moraa, on the other hand, won the Kenyan trials on her way to clinching African Under-20 400m title in a time of 53.57 in Cote d’Ivoire in April.
