Stage fright overwhelmed me, Ssekyaaya concedes

The packed crowd at London’s Excel Arena diligently claps heavily to cheer weightlifters as they make their way to the platform.
Urged on by a public address announcer, the applause is to help the lifters carry the heaviest they can before the thousands viewing in the arena, and millions worldwide.

Put simply, they try to help each athlete win gold. For Uganda’s 18-year-old Charles Ssekyaaya, that deafening reception was counterproductive.

He admitted to being a pack of nerves all through and thus couldn’t perform to his best in both snatch and clean and jerk en route to finishing sixth as he exited the Olympics.

Overawed
In fact Ssekyaaya revealed that he was overawed by competing at the world’s biggest games.

“I have to be honest,” he explained. “I’d been performing well before I came here. I was actually carrying higher kilograms.”

“But when I got here, I became tense. And thereafter, my knees gave way. I developed pains which I wasn’t experiencing before. “I was too nervous. This is a very big stage.”

Ssekyaaya’s morning wasn’t without incident. After appearing to successfully carry 135kg in his second clean and jerk attempt, the jury cancelled his lift despite the referee endorsing it. “They said there was a press in his arm, and that is why they disqualified the lift,” coach Muhammad Kabogoza said.

Debut display
“But the boy has done well. The Olympics are a formidable stage and he is learning.” Ssekyaaya is not letting his poor show affect his confidence, however. He is switching his focus to the Commonwealth Games, which could put him in good stead for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “I am going back to train harder. This was my first Olympics and I have learnt my lesson well.”

“I am not happy that traditionally it is athletics that brings Uganda medals. I want to work harder to try and change that.”

Earlier, Uganda’s woeful day at the Games had started with Edwin Ekiring’s straight sets defeat at the hands of Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki.
Ekiring was stopped 21-10, 21-8 and is out as well.