Tabitha brace fires up Chinese club
Women football export Tabitha Chawinga’s star in the Chinese Women’s Super League continued to sparkle on Saturday when she scored a brace as her Jiangsu Sunning beat Shanghai Shenshua 2-1.
The 22-year-old’s strikes in the 17th and 24th minutes not only helped her to lead the scorers’ chart with 13 goals in nine games, but also spurred Sunning to keep a close eye on league leaders Dalian Aerbin.
In a WhatsApp interview with The Nation yesterday, the prolific goal-poacher said she is grateful to God for granting her excellent scoring prowess.
“It feels great to score all the goals that have earned my team full points. I thank the Almighty God for blessing me with this talent. On my own, I cannot do anything,” she said.
This is Tabitha’s first season in the Chinese top-flight league but she is already on the right path to grab the golden boot accolade.
Her star has always sparkled in the foreign land since she joined Swedish league side Kvarnsvedens IK in 2015 when she finished top scorer with 43 goals, 14 more than the second highest scorer.
During the 2016 season, Chawinga was the third highest scorer in the league with 15 goals. But in 2017, she won the golden boot with 26 goals despite her club’s relegation from the Swedish elite league.
Women national football team coach Maggie Chombo-Sadick described Tabitha as an ever-shining star, whose services will be missed at the forthcoming Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Championship in South Africa.
During last year’s event, she scored eight goals to emerge the tournament’s second best scorer. She was just two goals behind golden boot winner Rutendo Makore of Zimbabwe.
