{"id":25809,"date":"2025-07-22T12:33:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/?p=25809"},"modified":"2025-07-25T08:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T08:54:03","slug":"from-kempton-park-to-germany-vut-star-nkabini-shines-on-global-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/from-kempton-park-to-germany-vut-star-nkabini-shines-on-global-court\/","title":{"rendered":"From Kempton Park to Germany: VUT star Nkabini shines on global court"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;VUT basketball star Lindokuhle Nkabini returns home after representing Team South Africa in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany. A true champion rising from Kempton Park!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>22 July 2025 | Story By: Qhawekazi Memani | Picture:&nbsp;Supplied<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2 minutes read time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-1024x682.webp\" alt=\"VUT basketball \" class=\"wp-image-25810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-1024x682.webp 1024w, https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-1536x1023.webp 1536w, https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lindo-image-jpg.webp 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) basketball standout, Ms Lindokuhle Nkabini, has returned home triumphant after proudly representing Team South Africa at the international basketball tournament held in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nkabini departed South Africa on 13 July and returned today, 22 July 2025, after a seven-day tournament during which she competed against formidable international teams. Her journey has not only elevated her sporting career but also cast a bright spotlight on the talent nurtured within South African university sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing chosen to represent VUT and South Africa internationally was not just a milestone; it was a moment of pride that spoke to years of discipline, sacrifice, and growth,\u201d reflects Lindokuhle on her recent experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A third-year Safety Management student, Nkabini\u2019s inspiring journey from a dusty court at Birch Acres Primary School in Kempton Park to the international basketball stage highlights her resilience and passion. Born in Limpopo and raised in Gauteng, she first discovered her love for basketball in Grade 4 with coach Mr Chris Veter and further developed her skills under the mentorship of Coach Billy Ndwarangwa in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her dedication earned her provincial colours and an opportunity to represent Gauteng, and now, proudly, Team South Africa. At VUT, she credits the university\u2019s structured basketball programme for enhancing her game and leadership abilities. \u201cVUT athletes may be less visible compared to universities like Pretoria (TUKS) and WITS, but we\u2019re here to show our excellence on the court,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy experience abroad was overwhelming but enriching. We did things we never thought we could be capable of &#8230; Even through the losses, we won something,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Returning from Germany, Nkabini is more committed than ever to growing basketball in South Africa\u2019s under-resourced provinces like the Northern Cape. She hopes to help build infrastructure and increase opportunities, ensuring more young athletes can fall in love with the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her advice to aspiring female basketball players remains inspiring: \u201cThink outside the box. Coaches love versatile players. Be adaptable, creative, and set goals, no matter how small. You never know where that journey will take you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As VUT celebrates Ms Lindokuhle Nkabini\u2019s successful international representation, she embodies the pride and potential of Gauteng basketball talent and South African university sports excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Welcome back, Ms Nkabini \u2014 VUT is immensely proud of you!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;VUT basketball star Lindokuhle Nkabini returns home after representing Team South Africa in D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany. A true champion rising from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-vaal-university-of-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25924,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25809\/revisions\/25924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}