Uganda’s Thomas Khedi booked his place in the men’s singles final of the Beach Woodball World Cup after defeating Hong Kong’s Kwok Ho Long 3-1 in the semifinals at Laem Charoen Beach, Thailand.
Earlier in the day, Khedi overcame world number two Namjumpa Kittakan of Thailand 2-1 in a tense quarterfinal, a win that gave him the momentum to push through to the final. He will now face Thailand’s Chaisongkram Peera, the defending champion, for the gold medal.
Khedi, who captains the Uganda team, said the results give him confidence going into the final. “It is good we are in the final and we are going to the bull by the horn. He is the defending champion, but I do not want to know because I will focus on my game with the agenda of winning a gold,” he said.
Uganda also celebrated progress in the women’s doubles, where Jackie Naula and Christine Birungi beat Hong Kong 3-1 to advance to the semifinals. They await a clash against either hosts Thailand or Indonesia later today.
In the men’s doubles, Khedi teamed with Giles Amanyire to beat Hong Kong 3-0 before bowing out in the quarterfinals against Indonesia with a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Coach Onesimus Atamba praised his squad’s performance and resilience. “I’m so happy with the performance of the team. We started on a slow note because of the rains, but today they picked up and adapted to the weather so fast giving us good results,” he said.
Uganda’s players are also waiting for confirmation of qualifiers in the stroke category as the competition continues.
