Africa-Press – Uganda. Judith Mirembe and Judith Kirabira both members of Table Tennis Kids Uganda, the first table tennis club in Iganga, stunned their Kampala opponents by dominating the Under 13 Girls category of the UTTA End of Holiday Inter-club Championship that climaxed alongside the national league at the Lugogo Indoor Arena, Saturday.
In that final, Mirembe defeated Kirabira 3-2 to bag gold and Shs100,000 prize money while her teammate bagged Shs50,000 as runner-up.
On any other day, that money should have gone to a club like Nakasero, just like it was in the league. But it seems TT Kids Uganda wants to shake up the table.
“We are happy that kids from Busoga are starting to compete in national events and winning titles,” coach John Isaac Bageya told on behalf of his little champions.
Kirabira, only 10 years old, also competed in the Under 18 category, losing to Mbogo College’s Swabra Namiiro, who also lost the final to the ruthless Jemimah Nakawala from Nakasero Table Tennis Club.
In December, Kirabira won the Under 13 title at the Inter Schools Championships at Aga Khan School after defeating Nakasero’s Patience Anyango in the final.
“It’s not easy to come from the village and defeat Kampala players, especially those from Nakasero,” Uganda Table Tennis Association president Robert Jjagwe told. “That’s a sign that we have a lot of untapped talent that we don’t know and it’s a matter of opening the doors for them.”
Bageya started TT Kids Uganda in Nabitende, in rural Iganga in 2022 and owes its sustenance to German Mark Winter, who was once an avid funder of Slum Ping Pong in Nsambya, Kampala.
“UTTA did not have a hand in starting that club but we must help them with the little we can like balls, rackets, so that they train more regularly,” Jjaggwe said.
“Attaching prize money to such tournaments, however little, motivates players, especially those in very wanting conditions. So, it’s a practice we need to continue.”
Bageya also called upon people of Busoga “to support their club.”
Under 13
Winner Boys: Sharif Nsereko
Runner-up: Joseph Sebatindira
Winner Girls: Judith Mirembe
Runner-up: Judith Kirabira
Under 18
Winner Boys: Samuel Ankunda
Runner-up: Joshua Magaya
Winner Girls: Jemimah Nakawala
Runner-up: Swabra Namiiro
PRIZES
Winner: Shs100,000
Runner-up: Shs50,000
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