Nayiga’s journey of frustrations to conquering African pool table

To  call Rukia Nayiga a surprise winner at the All Africa Pool Association (AAPA) women champion is a vast understatement. But after her dominant performance in Lusaka, Zambia, as she became the first Ugandan to win an individual title, hers is a name you won’t forget, at least not so soon.
Nayiga finished what might have been the most unexpected championship run in African pool history, winning the medal unbeaten.

After the 24-year-old defeated her sibling, Rashida Mutesi, 5-3 in the AAPA Women’s Singles Championship last Sunday, she was carried shoulder-high by teammates as they chanted inside the packed Olympic Youth Development Centre in Zambia. A muted fist pump – in respect for her sister – was followed with hands on the face as she soaked in the moment.
It’s a lot to take in. Nayiga, who was the youngest woman champion in Uganda, became the first Ugandan in the history of the AAPA championship – since 2014 – to win the singles trophy.

“I knew right from the start when I met Rashida that I would have to dig deep,” said Nayiga. “My mindset really helped me through those tough games.”

Improbable
Looking back on her historic victory,  Nayiga admits it wasn’t long before she considered quitting playing pool. She admits she went to Zambia as an underdog and had to muster her nerves to navigate a brutally difficult path during which she played against three Ugandans.
“I couldn’t believe it. This win is a great achievement,” said Nayiga, who made her senior debut with Samona in 2016 and by 2018 had had enough losses and contemplated quitting. 

Rough diamond
The woman whose name this newspaper erroneously wrote as Lukia Naiga instead of Rukia Nayiga was discovered by Victoria Namuyanja, the most decorated female player in the country.
Despite starting to play pool during her primary school days in Ndeeba in ‘loser pays’ games, she came to the fore in 2016 during a local tournament. Namuyanja, who was then a big time player with Samona, was impressed with her style of play and invited her to join the team training sessions at Pacify Hotel Wakaliga. Yet she was just a rough diamond.

Samona, a household name in the league by then, offered Nayiga the opportunity but handed her a stern test to play one of their stars, Jacinta Nakajubi, to prove her competence.
“I think she just let me win. Most of the players on the team liked me and when I played her, I won,” Nayiga reminisces.
When the then 19-year-old won the Christmas Cup at Lumas Inn, she sent shock waves to the pool fraternity. 
Nayiga went the entire 2017 without winning any individual accolade, losing challenges, including two finals. But somehow she got a wildcard to the national team that played in Zimbabwe. 

Turning point
In 2018, Nayiga finally stole the headlines with the Eid Cup triumph after beating Namuyanja in the final. This was the third time she was meeting the person who identified her. She had lost in the previous two meetings.

“The moment that changed my life was probably the Eid Cup. I had lost so many games and if I had lost that final, I would have tried something else. But when I won, it was the best moment of my career, for sure,” she said.
She was ranked among the best eight players and was invited to the Temuseo Open. She also entered the 2018 National Pool Open, losing to Namuyanja in the last eight. She lost to Zaimatt Nambafu in the second round of the Kampala Open, lost to Namuyanja again in the Indigo Open and failed to defend her Christmas Cup. When the Temuseo Masters returned, she lost all first round games.

“I always believed I was a top player but the losses were overwhelming. Since I had become a professional player, I kept pushing and hoping,” Nayiga says.
When Covid-19 struck, there was limited action. But she was part of the team that travelled to Lusaka for the Eastern and Central Africa Pool Championship.

Naiga’s Covid-19 test results delayed, so she had to complete the four-day road trip to Lusaka on the eve of the championship. Fatigue took hold of her, and she was trailing 5-3 in a race to seven games when she received medical attention. She won the game 7-5 the following day.
Thereafter she won her remaining games, including against Africa’s top seed Nicola Roseau 9-5 in the semis before beating Ritah Nimusiima in the final – her first continental triumph.
“It was an exciting outing for me and the money was badly needed especially during the lockdown,” Nayiga, who lives in a rental at Kabowa, says.

The African champion
“My form was really poor ahead of the tournament. God just helped me,” Nayiga says of the African championship in which she was drawn with Zimbabwe’s Petronella Sibanda in the first round. She won 5-0 in a lopsided game.
“It was like training for me so I tried everything I could have done in a training session,” Nayiga says.
In the second round she dismissed South Africa’s Alexia Julius 5-1 before eliminating Nimusiima 5-2 in the last 16. In the quarterfinals, she beat Immaculate Ayebazibwe 5-1 and then Namuyanja by the same score in the semifinal.

Since 2014, when Uganda started participating in the AAPA, individual victory has been elusive. Uganda’s best results were final losses of Nimusiima in 2017, and Namuyanja and Nayiga in the Blackball and Chinese 8-ball in 2019.
By winning all six games in Lusaka, Nayiga had written history. The final was a big test as she faced a third Ugandan and it was her little sister, Mutesi.
“When we meet, it is 50-50. I knew it was going to be a difficult game and after her comeback in the semifinals, she was having a good momentum,” she said.
Pressure set in as Mutesi took a 3-0 lead in the Race to 5 game.

“I went for a defensive game. I knew that I was going to lose in straight frames if I kept attacking,” Naiga said.
The final was another measure of Nayiga’s ruthless efficiency. She went on to win the remaining five games.
“We have not talked about that game since that final. She still stays at our parents’ home but she does not want to talk about the game,” Nayiga says of her sister.

AT A GLANCE

Rukia Nayiga

Nickname:     Shooter
Born:     August 7, 1998
Clubs:     Samona (2016)
    Kampala Central (2017-19)
    Ntinda Giants (2021- )
Fiercest rival:     Rashida Mutesi

Individual awards
Idd Cup champion (2018)
Temuseo Open Champion (2019)
Christmas Cup Champion (2016)
All Africa doubles champion (2017)
USPA personality January 2021
African champion (2022)

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