Team SA Olympian and double African Games champion Johanita Scholtz continued her memorable 2024 when she won the women’s singles title at the South Africa International in Cape Town at the beginning of December.
Before the event started she took time out of her schedule to speak to Matt Stone, a media student based in Cape Town. This is what he wrote of the experience.
“Nita shared with me that she won her first international title at just 17-years-old. Reflecting on that first win, she described her nerves in the final match against a strong rival from Nigeria, who had previously competed in the Olympics.
“Despite the pressure, she focused on giving her best performance. As the match grew closer, she realised she could actually win, and her reaction when doing so was one of utter elation. She was immediately pulled away for anti-doping testing,.
“Scholtz then spoke about her achievements in 2021, where she won two gold medals at the African Championships. She had prepared for the events during Covid-19, during which she was fortunate to live on a farm with space for running and physical training. This allowed her to stay in shape until she could return to the court post-lockdown.
“She talked about her fashion brand, JSA Designs, which she started in 2022. She explained that her passion for fashion comes from her artistic interests and desire to challenge herself.
“Although balancing badminton and fashion design is difficult due to her intense training schedule, she expressed her intention to focus more on fashion after her badminton career, though she still finds time to work on her designs during her minimal downtime.
“The Team SA athlete reflected on her experience competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She compared her current reality with her childhood dreams of competing at such the Olympics. As a young girl, she would watch the Olympics on TV, imagining herself one day joining the athletes she admired. She said that she was 12 when she first told her mom that she wanted to compete in the Olympics, though it felt like a dream at the time.
“When she qualified for the Olympics, the emotional impact was overwhelming. She described the moment as a surreal feeling and said that 10 minutes before her match, she began crying, realising that her childhood dream was finally coming true.
“The atmosphere of the event, with 18,000 people cheering, further fuelled her energy. She emphasised that the Paris crowd’s support wasn’t just for the top players, but for everyone.
“Still only 24, Scholtz feels that she still has more Olympic Games’ ahead of her, and she is committed to continuing her journey and embracing the experiences that come with it.”