Lady Bombers captain Nakalema, Ukasha storm medal bracket
Ukasha Matovu is feeling the vibe. PHOTO/ABDUL-NASSER SSEMUGABI
What you need to know:
Nakalema became the first Ugandan woman to win a bout in the African Championship by defeating Nigeria’s Peter Kate Isim in the women’s welterweight quarterfinal
Emily Nakalema and Ukasha Matovu took Uganda’s medal hopes to six after sorting their opponents at the 2023 Africa Confederations Boxing Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon yesterday.
Nakalema became the first Ugandan woman to win a bout in the African Championship by defeating Nigeria’s Peter Kate Isim in the women’s welterweight quarterfinal, a while before Matovu defeated Senegal’s Diane Cheikh Diop in the men’s welterweight quarterfinal.
These victories propelled both into the coveted medal bracket, assured of at least bronze medals and $5000m (Shs18m) each.
The duo joined middleweight Ronald Faizo Okello, who defeated Equatorial Guinea’s Mangue Obama 3-2 Tuesday night and flyweight Grace Nankinga, light welterweight Erina Namutebi and superheavyweight Solomon Geko who were drawn directly into the semifinals last Thursday.
This brought huge relief in the Bombers camp, which had suffered 10 casualties, with five not lasting the three rounds.
On Tuesday, Cruiserweight Lawrence Kayiwa was stopped in Round One against DR Congo’s Nathan Landu Mbeli before heavyweight James Baraka lost to Senegal’s Kebe Karamba.
