{"id":4374,"date":"2019-05-03T15:54:27","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T08:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.bwfbadminton.com\/?p=4374"},"modified":"2019-05-29T10:01:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T03:01:14","slug":"skys-the-limit-for-para-badminton-in-uganda-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/whats-new\/skys-the-limit-for-para-badminton-in-uganda-2","title":{"rendered":"Sky’s The Limit For Para Badminton In Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

With its impending debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics<\/a><\/span>, the sport of Para badminton is experiencing rapid growth around the world.<\/p>\n

None more so than in the burgeoning Para badminton capital of Africa, Uganda.<\/p>\n

Para badminton has benefited greatly from the dedicated work of Uganda Badminton Association CEO Simon Mugabe, and through the association\u2019s partnership with the BWF and the\u00a0AGITOS Foundation<\/span><\/a>, Mugabe and his team are seeing more and more opportunities for their players.<\/p>\n

At the recent BWF-AGITOS Project in Kampala, Uganda, Mugabe shared his thoughts on the great potential the sport has in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is wonderful that Uganda can host this programme funded by the AGITOS Foundation and BWF, as it is of great benefit to our Para badminton athletes. The project has also brought many players from many countries together to Uganda, which is great,\u201d Mugabe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second time we are hosting a Para badminton project with the BWF and AGITOS and the number of players has increased[vc_single_image image=”4377″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have over 10 countries in Africa with Para badminton players, so everyone has come on board. And it\u2019s great for Uganda that we were the first to host events like this so that everyone can come and develop their Para badminton programmes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery association now wants to have Para badminton.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At a national level, the dividends are also paying off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPara badminton in Uganda is growing very fast. We had one player in 2013 and now we have 100 players. The best part is if you have good players in the world rankings they will go to training more, and now we have athletes training every day,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLong term, through more coaching by technical experts, we hope these players can play with more confidence and enter tournaments like the Uganda Para-Badminton International and play against athletes fr<\/span>om outside Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would be very happy if there were athletes from the African continent defeating players from Europe, Asia and Pan-America.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4379″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

For local Short Stature player, Nakandi Peninah, her ability to practise and play badminton means everything to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI really appreciate the work of the BWF and the AGITOS Foundation for thinking it necessary to provide people like me with the opportunity to participate in Para badminton tournaments,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, a big thank you to the Uganda Badminton Association for bringing this programme here and I really hope the project comes back next year, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe project is still small but I believe it can build and I really love that they care and treat me well and that they provide the coaching we need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4380″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

This level of assistance and support also extends to the coaches. Local Para badminton coach Mark Sekyondwa said the athletes will only get better with more guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe programme is good for our players in Uganda. They are benefiting a lot because we lack experienced coaches. Having the AGITOS programme here is good as I can learn from the coaches and take those points so I can improve and help the athletes more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mugabe has seen a lot of badminton in his time and it brings him great joy to be involved in the development of the sport. Not only has he seen the athletes grow, but also the awareness and popularity of Para badminton, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great now that we have scope to grow and that people with disabilities have opportunities. Before they were marginalised but now they are recognised and are moving with freedom on the court. People know they play badminton and they are enjoying themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that these people should enjoy life as we do, and one way for them to do this is through Para badminton. And that\u2019s my happiness, to see all the classes of athletes playing badminton,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

ONE SPORT – ONE DREAM<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”4378,4381,4382,4384,4385,4386,4383″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/FM4tyhuB_Cs” align=”center”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BWF AGITOS Para badminton Technical Workshop Project recent held in Kampala, Uganda has benefited greatly to the Para badminton players from African regions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2630,"featured_media":4383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[294],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-new"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2630"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/development.bwfbadminton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}