KAMPALA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's team of six players traveled on Friday to take part in the BWF World Junior Badminton Championship in China.
The tournament that is attracting 40 countries and regions will take place from September 30 to October 13 in Nanchang, China. The three African teams that will be taking part include Uganda, Mauritius and Ghana.
"The team has been training seriously for the past two months and we can't wait to get to China and start the competition," head coach Joshua Muguluma told Xinhua during the team's official send-off held at the National Council of Sports (NCS) headquarters in Kampala on Friday.
The coach explained that they expect very stiff competition in Group G where they are placed against Slovenia, Latvia, Japan and England. "We know our teams will come up against top sides, but we shall take every match as it comes," added the coach.
Simon Mugabi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Badminton Association (UBA) told Xinhua that they are very optimistic that the team will perform well at the World Junior Championship. "This event is also very good for our young players because they will gain a lot of International exposure against the world's best players in their age category," added Mugabi.
One of the male players, Eric Ofuyuru told Xinhua that he is very excited that he made the final team to represent Uganda at the World Junior Championship in China. "This is a dream come true and I will do all my best to perform well in China," added Ofuyuru, son of one of Uganda's former national players Gilbert Ofuyuru. ■
