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FOR the umpteenth time Charles Manyuchi flew the Zimbabwe flag high and brought smiles to a nation that has been battling for sporting heroes and a positive story that showcases the beauty that sport is.

Manyuchi was far away from home in Italy on Saturday on a mission to defend his World Boxing Council welterweight title.

And as he has often done, albeit, away from his motherland, Manyuchi was a fine ambassador for Zimbabwe, completing the Italian job by pounding his opponent in a six-round bout in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

We extend our hearty congratulations to Charles for being the fine sporting ambassador that he continues to be and we challenge Zimbabwe as a nation to embrace this sporting hero whose exploits have been crying out for due recognition from his home.

Maybe as they say a prophet has no honour in his home for we have not done enough to support Charles Manyuchi

The corporate world should lead the way in embracing a World Champion that we have in our midst and unpack sponsorship packages and endorsements for Manyuchi.

That Manyuchi continues to fight away from home soil in order to defend his belt is a serious indictment on Zimbabweans and our failure to appreciate our sporting heroes.

Zambian promoters to their credit have seen the full value in Manyuchi and continue to promote his fights and that should serve as a huge lesson for Zimbabweans.

Manyuchi’s discipline is an individual sport that does not require huge sums of money to fly him to his boxing destinations or more importantly to come and challenge for his title on home soil.

We wonder what it would take for Zimbabweans to wake up and smell the coffee on the numerous benefits and business that the country would enjoy by staging a World Boxing Council international fight, something that the Zambians have long embraced and reaped from. It does not cost as much to cater for an individual’s international requirements as it would with team sports such as football or rugby that would have bigger delegations of 25 or more people.

Boxing has always been one of Zimbabwe’s major success stories when it comes to sport with Manyuchi’s predecessors such as Proud “Kilimanjaro’’ Chinembiri, Langton “Schoolboy’’ Tinago, Arifonso “Mosquito’’ Zvenyika all excelling in the ring against top world opposition.

But for all he has done for his country Manyuchi is not revered here in the same way that Filipinos have done with Manny Pacquiao yet he holds a WBC title and is a global champion.

When the boxing champion arrives in Harare tomorrow, the nation should do more than just welcome him at the international airport and do more to make him feel really proud of his achievements and embrace this big triumph with the moral, material and financial support that his exploits clearly deserve.

Manyuchi’s success also capped a fine weekend for Zimbabwean support where the Davis Cup tennis team also finally remembered how to win convincingly with their whitewash of Moldova at Harare Sports Club.

These success stories highlight what our sport can do with better corporate, government and individual support and how sport can significantly contribute to the Gross Domestic Product.

Let us start by supporting Manyuchi when he touches down at the Harare international airport tomorrow.