Before Durban City midfielder Sinamandla Zondi tragically collapsed during a pre-match warm-up of Tuesday's game against Milford, his father and “No 1 fan”, Lungisani Zondi, was in the crowd, looking forward to watching his son play, only for him to learn of his passing almost an hour later.
This is according to family spokesperson Ntokozo Ndlovu, who's also Zondi's uncle. “My brother [Lungisani] is distraught ... he never missed his [Zondi's] games, especially the home ones, so he was also there yesterday [Tuesday] as his No 1 supporter,” Ndlovu told Sowetan yesterday.
“He [Lungisani] was happy when he saw Sinamandla was starting, but when the match started, he noticed that the boy wasn't on the field until he was told at halftime that the boy had collapsed, before he was taken to the hospital [Life Chatsmed Garden], where he passed away. Surprisingly, he never noticed that someone collapsed before the game started.”
Ndlovu added that they were eagerly waiting for medical tests and a post-mortem, saying their son never showed any signs of sickness since he was born on December 15 2002. The game had to be abandoned at halftime after the news of Zondi's passing was received from the hospital. Milford was leading 1-0.
“At this stage, it's difficult to understand what really killed our son. As a family, we are still shocked because Sinamandla was a healthy boy who hardly even took headache tablets because he was strong. We're keenly waiting for the medical tests and post-mortem,” Ndlovu stated.
Zondi was originally from Greytown, but his family had settled in Pietermaritzburg. He joined Durban City when he was 16 years old, starting at the side's DStv Diski Challenge ranks when the team was still Maritzburg United. Zondi is survived by his parents and two younger sisters.
Before his untimely death, Zondi had featured in almost every Durban City's game this season as they remain top of the Motsepe Foundation Championship table.
Did you know?
Zondi is the fourth Durban City (formerly Maritzburg United) player to die in recent times
January 2016: Midfielder Mondli Cele (car crash)
October 2017: Midfielder Mlondi Dlamini (car crash)
May 2018: Striker Luyanda Ntshangase (struck by lightning before losing his life in hospital, where he'd been in an induced coma for weeks).
SowetanLIVE
Zondi's family shocked after death of their 'healthy boy'
Dad wasn't aware midfielder collapsed before the game
Image: Philip Maeta/Gallo Images
Before Durban City midfielder Sinamandla Zondi tragically collapsed during a pre-match warm-up of Tuesday's game against Milford, his father and “No 1 fan”, Lungisani Zondi, was in the crowd, looking forward to watching his son play, only for him to learn of his passing almost an hour later.
This is according to family spokesperson Ntokozo Ndlovu, who's also Zondi's uncle. “My brother [Lungisani] is distraught ... he never missed his [Zondi's] games, especially the home ones, so he was also there yesterday [Tuesday] as his No 1 supporter,” Ndlovu told Sowetan yesterday.
“He [Lungisani] was happy when he saw Sinamandla was starting, but when the match started, he noticed that the boy wasn't on the field until he was told at halftime that the boy had collapsed, before he was taken to the hospital [Life Chatsmed Garden], where he passed away. Surprisingly, he never noticed that someone collapsed before the game started.”
Ndlovu added that they were eagerly waiting for medical tests and a post-mortem, saying their son never showed any signs of sickness since he was born on December 15 2002. The game had to be abandoned at halftime after the news of Zondi's passing was received from the hospital. Milford was leading 1-0.
“At this stage, it's difficult to understand what really killed our son. As a family, we are still shocked because Sinamandla was a healthy boy who hardly even took headache tablets because he was strong. We're keenly waiting for the medical tests and post-mortem,” Ndlovu stated.
Zondi was originally from Greytown, but his family had settled in Pietermaritzburg. He joined Durban City when he was 16 years old, starting at the side's DStv Diski Challenge ranks when the team was still Maritzburg United. Zondi is survived by his parents and two younger sisters.
Before his untimely death, Zondi had featured in almost every Durban City's game this season as they remain top of the Motsepe Foundation Championship table.
Did you know?
Zondi is the fourth Durban City (formerly Maritzburg United) player to die in recent times
January 2016: Midfielder Mondli Cele (car crash)
October 2017: Midfielder Mlondi Dlamini (car crash)
May 2018: Striker Luyanda Ntshangase (struck by lightning before losing his life in hospital, where he'd been in an induced coma for weeks).
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