On Friday, February 6, at noon, at the NCS office in Lugogo, Uganda Badminton, in conjunction with the National Council of Sports, flagged off a team comprising 5 players of each gender for the All Africa Senior Badminton Championship in Gaborone, Botswana.
The team, which is under coach Frank Muwuluzi, is equipped as two full teams, which are supposed to have 4 players per team and more extra players per team, as they aim to secure a team slot to represent the African continent at the World Senior Badminton Championship finals in Horsens, Denmark, in May this year, facing other continental winners for both Men’s and Women’s.
The team is set to travel in the early hours of Sunday, February 8, boarding Ethiopian Airways for the event slated for February 9th to 15th, with 17 countries taking part in the Championship.
During the flag off, conducted by NCS’ Assistant General Secretary, Technical, Milton Chebet, Head Coach Muwuluzi appeared optimistic about the team’s performance, amidst having many debutantes in the team, “We are well prepared for the championship, and we have worked on all the patterns with the support from the entire badminton fraternity. I believe in the team, that we are going out there to perform.”
Out of the ten players, six of them are making senior debuts at the international stage, including Arafat Tendo Kibirige, Denis Mukasa, Akbar Noah Oduka, Reagan Mike Nsubuga, leaving the men’s team with only one experienced player in Muzafar Lubega due to his fellows leaving sport, while others failed to qualify.
On the women’s team, Kuruthum Nalumansi and Nakajja Olivia are on the team to replace injured Husna Kobugaba, and the other hopes to be an extra player.
The two join the team Captain Tracy Justin Naluwooza, Uganda’s best, Fadillah Muhammad Shimika, and the most experienced female on the team, Gladys Mbabazi.
