The tournament starts with the team events from February 13 to 16 and will conclude with the singles from February 17 to 19.
February will be an action-packed month for the Uganda Badminton Team having four multi-national tournaments lined up for them in both Johannesburg -South Africa- and back home in Kampala Uganda.
Players like Brian Kasirye and Fadirah Shamika are positive Uganda will perform better in the upcoming championships.
The 2023 edition of the All Africa Senior Championships will be hosted in Johannesburg South Africa and Uganda is part of the 17 nations expected to participate in the annual event.
The team will set off on Saturday afternoon aboard the Uganda airlines, as they look to destabilize the continent’s powerhouses like Egypt, Algeria, and the hosts South Africa in their backyard.
Players have been in a residential camp at Ndejje University for the past two weeks, and their confidence to impress at the tourney is backed by the intense training in the camp.
BRIAN KASIRYE – Player (Team Uganda)
Our target is to reach the finals in both the team and individual events . This will be my second appearance at the All Africa Senior Champs. We finished on the quarter finals last time, but tis time round I have had enough training and I am really prepared for this tournament.
Kasirye returned from an individual training session in Dubai, to join the team in camp while Shamika was one of the players present with the Kampala Badminton Club at the launch of the National League two weeks back.
FADIRAH SHAMIKA – Player (Team Uganda)
Training for the past ten days has been effecient for us as a team to go and perform really well in South Africa, and we have met with many of the players and the teams that we are going to face.
The All Africa Senior Championships will feature both team and individual events from the 13th to the 19th, with the Teams contest scheduled for the 13th to 16th when the finals will be played, before the tournament rounds up with the individual competitions from the 17th to 19th on Sunday afternoon.
The format of the Team Event Competitions will be a group phase followed by a knock-out round as BWF General Competition Regulations will apply to the Championships, while the individual tournament will be played on a knock-out system.
Each tie will be composed of five matches: one Men’s Single, one Women’s Single, one Men’s Double, one Women’s Double, and a mixed Double.
Teams winning three or more matches in any tie will be declared as the winner and a player is not allowed to play more than two matches per tie.
Uganda hosted the last two editions in 2021 and 2022, managing to win bronze last year as Egypt topped the medal tally in Lugogo.
The team will be in the custody of Head Coach Karimunda Ivan as Amos Muyanja captains the pack of experienced players in Fadirah Shamika, Husina Kobugabe, Lubega Muzafaru, Gladys Mbabazi, Kasirye Brian, Kenneth Mwambu, Emuddu Expendito, and Tracy Naluwooza.
Head Coach Karimunda says all players are in perfect shape and that will give him a squad depth enough to try out all his options on the court.
IVAN KARIMUNDA – Head Coach (Team Uganda)
Each player on the team is safe and sound, we do not have any injuries, so we are not limited by numbers. The advantage of having a big number is that technically, you have options, and can try out various strategies.
From the All Africa Senior Championships, the team will return home for the Uganda International Challenge to be held in Lugogo from the 22nd to the 26th and later the Junior Internationals from the 27th of Feb to the 01st of March at the same venue.
