This is my peace, says ‘high roller’ Letsoalo

KGOTSO Letsoalo is at his happiest when he is on the court – the fact that he has no fingers or legs is neither here nor there.

Letsoalo was part of the SA Under-23 wheelchair basketball team that did the country proud in the IWBF Africa Northern Region series in Tripoli a fortnight ago.

The 19-year-old and his teammates enjoyed a clean sweep in the 5x5 series by beating hosts Libya 5-0, before coming second and third in the 3x3 series.

They proved their prowess by cementing their status as the highest rated nation on the continent, something that will please coach Trooper Johnson.

Molemo Mphomela was named MVP of the tournament, while Petros Mlife and Letsoalo were included in the All-Star Team of the tournament.

With the exception of Letsoalo, the tournament was the first international trip for most of the players, including the youngest jewel in 15-year-old Lusanda Manqele.

This was Letsoalo’s second trip outside the country, having been registered with a club outside the country.

“I am currently registered under a team called High Rollers in the UK,” said Letsoalo during the team’s meet-and-greet session with sponsors Sasol ahead of the trip to north Africa.

“We went to Thailand in April for a tournament and practice, so this is going to be my second time. We are going to Libya, so I am excited and looking forward to it.”

While Letsoalo is visibly disabled, conversing from his wheelchair at Sasol Place during his media engagement, there’s something about his bubbly personality and charisma.

“I have heard that I am bubbly quite a lot,” beamed Letsoalo.

“Yeah, I could have chosen that path – to be a bubbly person and do something else with my life. But I love basketball. To me, basketball is my peace and my home. So, I choose basketball over my bubbly character. That can only be for fun. For me, it’s sports all the way.”

The 19-year-old is indeed a match made in heaven with basketball. Starting out at Forest Town, a mental school, before moving to Hope School allowed Letsoalo to hone his craft in the sport.

“Hope School is a school of disability, and I was not the only person like this – without fingers and legs. We were a lot,” he said of the school where he matriculated.

“It was a good school; everything was spot on. They gave me every tool that I needed to be where I am now. So, without Hope School I don’t think I’d be here.”

The Letsoalo household in the Free State couldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams that they’d have to take their son, one of seven children, to a school for the disabled some day.

After all, Kgotso was born an able-bodied person, but it was a medical condition at the age of one that changed his life to.

“I fell sick when I was one year old due to meningitis,” Letsoalo recalled.

“It spread through my feet and legs when I was only one. I was an able-bodied person when I was born.

“Three days after my first birthday, I felt sick, and the doctor advised that the only way I could survive is if they cut my feet and my leg.”

Such was the early bravery of Letsoalo, he believed that his amputation came with a silver lining as he instantly believed that he could ‘live the impossible’.

“I didn’t see my amputation as a disability. I saw an opportunity from God saying, ‘I am taking away this from you, but I am giving you something which is basketball’,” he explained.

While his friends nicknamed him ‘Fingers’ due to his condition, Letsoalo doesn’t mind. After all, he can wheel his wheelchair on the court as if it’s fuelled by petroleum giants Sasol.

“I don’t have any fingers, but I am a good player with or without the fingers. They decided to call me ‘Fingers’ because that seemed as if it’s my strength,” Letsoalo added.