It’s time small sports stood out
What you need to know:
The issue: Sport disciplines
Our view: Table tennis, lawn tennis, handball, taekwondo, weightlifting and road cycling, among others must put in recognisable shifts as their results yield dividends in many ways.
By luck, Uganda’s oldest boxer entered the medal bracket without throwing a punch in the ring at the ongoing African Games in Morocco.
Hellen Baleke got a bye into the semi-finals of the women’s middleweight category and it means she can at least walk away with a bronze.
Let’s stretch out further beyond boxing which is one of Uganda’s golden sports. The country is to participate in a total 12 disciplines in Morocco with athletics having 27 participants beginning today.
To be realistic though, the onus is on competitors in the lesser known disciplines to deliver.
Table tennis, lawn tennis, handball, taekwondo, weightlifting and road cycling, among others, must put in recognisable shifts as their results yield dividends in many ways. For a cyclist like Azizi Ssempijja, triumph earns him glorification on the podium in Casablanca and back home.
This paper understands each athlete was given a $1,000 (Shs3.7m) package by government through the National Council of Sports (NCS).
The stipends could even be better if one returns with a medal, as evidenced by President Museveni who promised Joshua Cheptegei and Stella Chesang houses after winning gold medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games.
Not only that though, federations of these disciplines have got bigger voices in staking claim for funding, grants and support from NCS and Uganda Olympic Committee in case they have results (medals) to show. And it is also a chance for some to earn a wild card entry or direct qualification to next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. About 15 disciplines at the Games in Morocco are pathways for teams and individuals to the Olympics.
Participation at the Olympics is a dream for every athlete across the world and the doors to
Tokyo are ajar in cities of Rabat and Casablanca.
Further, some other athletes have a chance to prove themselves and as well polish for other imminent global events. For the boxers like Baleke, they still have to focus on the World Championships due September 7-21 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
It is the same for track and field participants. Uganda Athletics Federation went with largely lesser experienced runners and these have a chance to star ahead of the Doha World Athletics Championships.
Youngster Samuel Kibet has a chance to launch himself on the continental scene in the 10,000m final while teenager Sarah Chelangat can prove her gem in the 5,000m final. The story goes on...
