Uganda’s men and women national hockey teams got to Lusaka, Zambia on Thursday morning ahead of the June 7-9 Zambezi Series.
The road trip experience and the emotions of making it to the final destination topped some major challenges of the journey.
Despite leaving early on Monday morning, the contingent has had almost four days of connecting to the destination even though the combined hours on the road have been about 48.
This is because, the bus that delivered them to Mutukula broke down and it took nearly 24 hours to replace.
The management group opted to have the bus replaced by Uganda Hockey’s service providers rather than go for an alternative means of transport on the other side of the border or repair the first one.
The decision turned out to be solid as the replacement bus delivered the team to Lusaka in about 48hours.
“With the team bonding games of cards and dodge ball, among others, the wait for the replacement bus was more fruitful than expected,” ladies assistant captain Hilda Star Balondemu said.
Balondemu shared that the availability of familiar dishes along the way has made it even easier to feed.
“The Tanzanian meals were tasty. But that was until we tasted the Zambian food for our supper. Ugali (or Nsima in Zambia) is a major part of dishes in both countries but the Zambian chicken and sausages overthrew the Tanzanian beef.”
“Of course, food is not it all for me, but the experience of watching past matches, singing and watching movies together on the bus is huge.”
“We cannot wait to get to the field and win. This whole journey has to be topped up with a trophy and gold medals,” the midfielder added.
With the sides in Lusaka now, the focus shifts to the matches that start tomorrow all through the weekend.
The Hockey Cranes confront Malawi early tomorrow morning while the Hockey She Cranes take on Zambia in the late afternoon.
Full Fixtures
Friday
M: Malawi vs. Uganda, 11am
W: Uganda vs. Zambia, 6pm
M: Zambia vs. Malawi, 7pm
Saturday
M: Uganda vs. Zambia, 9am
W: Zambia vs. Uganda, 11am
M: Uganda vs. Malawi, 4pm
Sunday
M: Malawi vs. Zambia, 11am
W: Uganda vs. Zambia, 6pm
M: Zambia vs. Uganda, 8pm
Courtesy Photos
