No rest for golden girls

Husina Kobugabe and Gladys Mbabazi, who won Uganda a historic badminton gold medal and Fadillah Shamika, who got bronze at the African Games in Accra, Ghana on Sunday had no time to celebrate as they are already in France fighting for points to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

From Accra, the three flew straight to France on Monday a day before the Orleans Masters. 

By press time, Shamika and was teaming up with Tracy Naluwooza against Febraina Kusuma and Amallia Pratiwi of Indonesia in the Round of 32 Women's Doubles, while Kobugabe and Mbabazi were once more testing their magical partnership against Swedish sisters Moa and Tilda Sjoo. 

Kobugabe was also due to face Kim Schmidt of Luxembourg in the singles while Shamika was up against Amalie Schulz of Denmark. 
Simon Mugabi, the CEO Uganda Badminton Federation said the ladies still have a long way to go to the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

"About their qualification status for Paris Olympics, it's too early to determine," Mugabi told Daily Monitor yesterday. "The qualification process ends April 28 and between now and then there are many tournaments. Meaning you can rise in rankings now, then someone rises above you in another."
 
That means the ladies need to work harder. "That is why we entered them in as many tournaments as possible. 

"Because after the Orleans Masters, we have the Spanish Open, Swiss Open, Slovakia, etc. And if we have the capacity to send them there and they perform well: quarterfinal, semis and finals, their chances will have improved," Mugabi said. 

He also noted that Brian Kasirye's decision to abandon the sport for jobs in the USA was very untimely. "By now he would have been Number One in  Africa, and heading for the Paris Olympics. But what do you do now after he has chosen another path?"