Uganda’s table tennis prospects Joseph Sebatindira and Jemimah Nakawala delivered a strong performance at the African Youth Games, earning bronze medals in both the individual and team categories.
Sebatindira enjoyed an impressive run in the men’s singles, starting the group stage with convincing victories over Mauritius (3–1) and Benin (3–0). He received a bye in the Round of 32 before cruising past Burundi’s Dusabe 3–0 in the Round of 16. The young Ugandan then edged Chad’s Putola 4–2 in the quarterfinals but saw his campaign halted in the semifinals after a 4–1 defeat to Tunisia’s Youssef Aidli. Sebatindira eventually finished with bronze after narrowly losing the third-place playoff 3–2 to Nigeria’s Fabunmi Mathew.
Nakawala also showed remarkable composure in the women’s singles. She progressed smoothly through the early rounds, with byes in both the Round of 32 and Round of 16, before registering a dominant 4–0 win over Rwanda in the quarterfinals.
Her run was stopped in the semifinals by Egypt’s Yara Elbadawy, but Nakawala responded positively, defeating Algeria’s Morice Tania 3–2 in the bronze medal match to secure a third-place finish.
In the team event, Uganda impressed by sweeping aside South Africa and Malawi 2–0 in the group stage. Sebatindira and Nakawala continued their fine form with a 2–0 win over Kenya in the quarterfinals before falling 2–0 to Egypt in the semifinals, settling for a well-earned bronze.
Overall, Uganda wrapped up the African Youth Games with encouraging bronze medal finishes in both singles and team table tennis events.
