Commonwealth duo leads team Uganda to Djibouti for East Africa Table Tennis seniors

Overview:

The 2023 East Africa regional seniors Table Tennis championship is a precursor for the 2023 Africa Senior Championships, World Table Tennis Championships, 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the 2024 All Africa Games.

Event: 2023 East Africa Regional Seniors Table Tennis championship
Dates: 9^th– 12^th March
Host country: Djibouti

Teenagers Parvin Nangonzi and Jemimah Nakawala, two of the four players who represented Uganda at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom are back on national duty.

The duo is part of the six-man team that will represent Uganda at the 2023 East Africa regional seniors Table Tennis championship in Djibouti.

Jemimah Nakawala in action during the Olympics

Nangonzi and Nakawala, both students at sports powerhouse Kibuli Secondary School are joined by Mbogo High school’s Shanitah Namaala.

The boys’ team has Benjamin Achuma (Ndejje University), Samuel Ankunda Mbabazi (Kibuli S.S) and Mbogo College’s Imran Luwooza.

Benjamin Achuma in practice (Credit: David Isabirye)

Samuel Ankunda Mbabazi during Table Tennis training

Unfortunately, the team traveled minus a head coach because of financial hardships.

They departed Entebbe International Airport on Wednesday, 8^th March 2023 aboard Ethiopian Airlines via two different batches.

The boys departed at 04:25 am who were followed by the girls at 11:55 am.

The team will face other countries in the East African docket that has hosts Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The championship is a precursor for the 2023 Africa Senior Championships, World Table Tennis Championships, 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the 2024 All Africa Games.

With God’s Will we shall bring back a good medal for our country. The team is very good. It was selected by the fair and transparent round robin system where 11 men and 11 ladies of the Table Tennis super league division all played each other last Sunday. We are very grateful to National Council of Sports (NCS) and Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) for the assistance to this team. And we are very happy to have colleagues in these bodies who are understanding enough to feel for the players and sort out the plight of these very dedicated Ugandan National Team players who sacrifice so much for our country. We are quite confident that the players have good concentration and focus on the games in Djibouti.
Robert Jjagwe, president Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA)