HARARE (Zimbabwe) – For Ingvild Mucauro, being in Zimbabwe for the Zone 6 U18 AfroBasket Qualifiers brought back fond memories of her teenage years when she played in a similar tournament.<\/p>\n
Now grown and known for her surgical precision on the basketball court, whether playing for Mozambique or her club team, the Costa do Sol player, who is also a practicing medical doctor, found herself in Zimbabwe for her latter profession.<\/p>\n
As first reported by the Mozambican media outlet Lance, Mucauro is in the Zimbabwean capital to oversee MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) at the Zone 6 U18 AfroBasket qualifiers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The tournament features the host nation, Zimbabwe, as well as the 2022 U18 AfroBasket finalists, Madagascar and Namibia.<\/p>\n
Although surprised to receive the invitation to travel to Zimbabwe, Mucauro told FIBA.basketball that a meeting with FIBA medical official Dr. Omega Edwards led to this opportunity to work in a different basketball role, which she feels prepared to take on.<\/p>\n
“Last year I made contact with Dr Omega from FIBA, and I told him about my profession. So, when I got called, it was a bit of a surprise because it’s something I wanted, but did not expect to happen so soon,” said Mucauro, a three-time Women’s Basketball League Africa winner (2024, 2019 and 2018) and 2019 tournament MVP.<\/p>\n
“I love basketball, and to be involved in this way is very good. I am proud of myself, and that it also involves the sport I love. I also hope to inspire other that they can be involved in basketball in other ways.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mucauro, who has played in five Women’s AfroBasket tournaments, expanded on her role as a doctor at the qualifiers, explaining that she is at the tournament to help ensure that everything is above board regarding age testing.<\/p>\n
“I am here to supervise the MRI’s. As you players who are U16 and U18, there is usually a challenge in that age group, and I am here to supervise that the right players are tested and take the exams to FIBA for analysis,” said Mucauro.<\/p>\n
The shooting guard says the opportunity has also opened her eyes to other aspects of the medical field she could pursue in the future.<\/p>\n
“When I first studied, I did not think about it. But throughout my career as a doctor and a player, things began to shift. I am now interested in being a medical doctor who is involved in sports because both (medicine and basketball) part of my life. So it’s something I am starting to invest a little more in to be a sports medical doctor. I think it will be a great transition to do the two things that I love,” said Mucauro.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Being at the qualifiers brought her back to 2008, when, as a 16-year-old, Mucauro represented her country in the Zone 6 qualifiers of the AfroBasket.<\/p>\n
“It’s a funny story. My tournament was here too. So it’s coming back to where things started for me. It’s almost 20 years since that time. I have been a doctor for 10 years now. As said, I hope my journey can inspire others and show that they can pursue education and sport,” said Mucauro. “It’s a nostalgic moment for me being here.<\/p>\n
She went on to narrate the process of being part of Mozambique’s U18 national team. Mucauro recalled a time she was brought to tears because she had left her parents in Chimoio to chase her basketball dream.<\/p>\n
“When I came to the U18, I was 16. I remember the trip to Harare. I was in a car, I was a little girl, and I was crying because I was leaving my mom and dad at home, but I wanted to play basketball,” said Mucauro. “This is for them. They insisted that I study and play basketball. My mom was a basketball player, and my dad always insisted that I put education first. So this is for them.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mozambique advance to the Women’s AfroBasket quarterfinals for the 11th time dating back to the 2005 edition of the tournament. <\/p>\n
Finally, she paid homage to basketball and everything it has done for her.<\/p>\n
“Basketball has been part of my life since I was a little girl. I love basketball. I never thought it would get me this far. Of course I had to sacrifice…I had to study and miss out on tournaments, but basketball has been here for me. It’s not just a sport for me. It’s therapy,” said Mucauro. “It’s done a lot for me as a player, and I am here (in Zimbabwe) because of it.”<\/p>\n
This is a new chapter in Mucauro’s basketball journey. <\/p>\n
FIBA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HARARE (Zimbabwe) – For Ingvild Mucauro, being in Zimbabwe for the Zone 6 U18 AfroBasket Qualifiers brought back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-561723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}