Ugandas top female player Shamim Bridget Bangi will battle Linda Mazri in the first round of the 2017 Morocco International Open Championship.
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Bridget Shamim Bangi in action.
Uganda's top female player Shamim Bridget Bangi will battle Linda Mazri in the first round of the 2017 Morocco International Open Championship.
The World sanctioned event will take place November 9-12th in Casablanca with several foreign players expected to take part. “My focus remains qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Bangi who is already in Morocco told URN.
“ It is the wish of any athlete to feature at the Olympics and I am working hard to try and accumulate world ranking points to be able to qualify for the Games,” she added.
After failing to go past the first round at the Egypt International Championship last week, Bangi said she will be more focused to get into the semi final level or win the trophy. “ I know it will be tough battling against the foreign players who have vast experience, but my focus is getting to the Olympics,” she added.
The event will attract players from Algeria, Egypt, Uganda, Belgium, Jordan, Slovakia, Denmark and Nigeria among others. Egypt's Hadia Hosny is ranked top, while French player Lucas Claerbout is top for the men.
Simon Mugabi, the Chief Executive Officer of The Uganda Badminton Association (UBA) said Bangi is among the 16 African players players selected and sponsored by the Badminton Confederation Africa to play in several tournaments and accumulate ranking points that will help them qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
