Uganda’s men’s woodball team advanced to the semifinals of the 4th Beach Woodball World Cup after defeating India 3-0 in the quarterfinals at Laem Charoen Beach in Thailand on Monday.
The victory set up a semifinal clash with Hong Kong in the Fairway team category, scheduled for today. Eight countries — including Taipei, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Nepal, and hosts Thailand — had reached the quarterfinal stage.
Head coach Onesimus Atamba praised his side’s performance despite the difficult conditions, with the opening games played under steady rainfall.
“So far not bad. We started in the morning under rain which we are not used to, but the scores were impressive and we shall start from there tomorrow (today),” Atamba said.
Uganda Woodball Federation president Paul Mark Kayongo encouraged the players to stay focused after the women’s team exited at the semifinal stage.
“Yes, it is not good results for the women losing at the semi-final, but there are categories we should look at to win medals,” Kayongo told the team.
National Council of Sports general secretary Dr. Bernard Ogwel also met the players, urging discipline and consistency while reminding them of the bigger rewards attached to success.
“As government, we are committed to the development of sports and woodball is among them,” Dr. Ogwel said, before offering the team USD 1,000 in appreciation for their resilience in the competition.
In the Stroke opening games, team captain Thomas Khedi and Darry Gilles Amanyire each recorded 55 strokes after posting 22 and 23 respectively in the pool stages.
