Muzafaru Lubega and Gladys Mbabazi spearheaded Uganda’s doubles redemption with a silver medal as the Kampala International Future Series 2026 came to a close at the Lugogo Indoor Arena on Sunday, September 27.
The pair finished runners-up in the Mixed Doubles, providing a bright ending to a tournament in which several of Uganda’s big names stumbled in the singles events. Malaysia’s Hafiz Hakim Hashim and Lim Xuan took gold in the Mixed Doubles, while Kenya’s Eric Ngumo and Jacinta Nyaranda Sengera shared bronze with Uganda’s Reagan Micheal Nsubuga and Tracy Naluwooza.
Uganda eventually finished the four-day Kampala International Future Series, held from September 24-27, with one silver and four bronze medals. The result came despite several of Uganda’s leading players crashing out at the quarterfinal stage of the Women’s and Men’s Singles.
Fadilah Shamika, Kruthum Nalumansi, Tracy Naluwooza, Gladys Mbabazi and Reagan Micheal Nsubuga were among those who failed to progress as far as expected in the singles, leaving the doubles events to provide the much-needed redemption.
Mbabazi was central to that response, winning silver in the Mixed Doubles with Lubega while also collecting bronze in the Women’s Doubles alongside Meble Namakoye. The other Women’s Doubles bronze went to Fadillah Shamika Mohamed Rafi and Naluwooza. India’s Sonali Singh and Ritika Thaker won gold, while their compatriots Akshita Manral and Ishita Negi took silver.
Mbabazi admitted that the tournament came at a physical cost, revealing that she competed while carrying a shoulder injury.
“My body is tired. I am currently carrying shoulder pain. I played this tournament in pain, but I request the Uganda National team to have some medical insurance; it would help us players a lot,” Mbabazi said.
Despite the discomfort, she was pleased with the number of medals she has accumulated across a demanding international schedule.
“I am glad to have got quite a few medals. For example, in Ghana I got a silver in the mixed doubles and bronze in the women’s doubles with Kruthum Nalumansi, added a bronze in Nigeria in the mixed doubles alongside Muzafaru Lubega and another mixed doubles bronze in Cameroon,” she said.
Her recent AirBadminton commitments added another layer to an already packed schedule. Mbabazi won gold in the Mixed Doubles with Denis Mukasa and bronze in the Women’s Triples, before taking gold in the Regional East Africa category with Comoros as a guest country. She believes the switch between the different surfaces prepared for the Future Series even harder.
“This experience has been draining and didn’t help much since the surfaces are different, yet there was no time to prepare again for the Future Series,” she explained.
For the silver in Kampala International, Mbabazi said she had to remain focused and give everything she had, but believes Uganda’s players need more structured preparation ahead of a busy international calendar.
“Well, to win this silver I had to stay focused and give it my all, but I request the Federation to get us some training camps,” she said.
Her calendar remains crowded, with the Uganda International and City Tyres tournament coming in mid-October, followed by events in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa in November, before Algeria and Egypt bring her international year to a close in December.
Naluwooza also carried the weight of a gruelling schedule into Lugogo but still managed to return home with two bronze medals. The Ugandan had travelled from Ghana to Nigeria, then Cameroon, before returning to Entebbe for the AirBadminton competitions and finally making her way to Lugogo for the four-day Future Series.
“I have had a tough schedule, coming from Ghana to Nigeria to Cameroon, back to Entebbe for the AirBadminton and now here for the last four days, meaning I have been away from my family for the last one month and three weeks,” Naluwooza narrated.
She was nevertheless pleased to clinch bronze alongside her longtime Women’s Doubles partner Fadilah Shamika, as well as another bronze with Nsubuga in the Mixed Doubles.
“I am glad I managed to clinch a bronze medal alongside my longtime Women’s Doubles partner Fadilah and another bronze with Reagan Nsubuga,” she added.
Naluwooza acknowledged that she had little time to prepare physically for the Kampala event but said her mental readiness helped her recover after a difficult singles campaign.
“I didn’t get time physically to prepare for this, but mentally I was prepared, and that added a layer on me. It was tough in the singles, but I managed to redeem myself with Fadilah and kept home the bronze, one that was won by Gladys and Husina in the last edition,” she said.
Her immediate target is now the Uganda International, where she hopes to turn the bronze into gold.
“I am looking at winning the Uganda International that is coming in a few days and hope to clinch a gold in the Women’s Doubles with Fadillah, and I am also eyeing a podium finish in the Mixed Doubles with Reagan,” she said.
International dominance and Singles showdowns
India dominated the singles events, with Ishita Negi winning the Women’s Singles after defeating compatriot Akshita Manral in the final. Ruhi Raju of the USA and India’s Aesha Gandhi took bronze. Negi, who last competed in Uganda two years ago without the desired outcome, returned this time determined to produce a different result.
“This time I won and am very happy. It was a bit tough, but I managed and did well,” Negi said.
She attributed her performance to the preparation built through a busy run of tournaments.
“Basically, the last years have been playing back-to-back, and I was so well prepared for the two to four days of the tournament,” she said.
Negi will not have long to celebrate, with the Uganda International coming just three days after the Future Series.
“After three days I have Uganda International and looking forward to winning that too,” she added.
In the Men’s Singles, India’s Abhishek Kanapala claimed gold ahead of compatriot Tanmoy Bikash Boruah, while Myanmar’s Hen Htut and India’s Akhil Rao Suryaneni settled for bronze.
India also swept the Men’s Doubles final, with Abhyuday Choudhary and Ayush Makhija taking gold over Manav Choudhary and Himanshu Tiwari. Uganda’s Joshua Ekochu and Tendo Kizito Mukalazi won bronze alongside Kenya’s Edwin Akwanyi and Edwin Waitathu Njeri.
While the singles exposed the demands of Uganda’s packed international schedule, the doubles offered the home side a measure of redemption.