URN.Female boxer Teddy Nakimuli has this afternoon entered the medal bracket at the on-going Commonwealth Games in Birmingham without even entering the ring.
Nakimuli earned a bye after her quarter-final opponent in the light-fly weight, Canadian-born Sara Haghighat-Joo who is representing Sierra Leone, weighed in a tenth of a kilogram (0.2lbs) over the 50kg limit, and consequently guaranteed the Ugandan boxer a medal.
Any boxer who qualifies for the semi finals is assured of a medal with the losing two picking bronze medals.
The 20-year-old Nakimuli who is making a her debut in the Games becomes the first-ever Ugandan female boxer to get a medal in the Commonwealth Games.
Although the Commonwealth Games date back to 1930, female boxing was only introduced at the Glasgow 2014 games. The women who took part in the Games then competed for three gold medals in the flyweight (50 kilograms), lightweight (60 kg), and middleweight (75 kg). However, still, Uganda did not send a female boxer in the previous editions.
Nakimuli will now face Northern Ireland’s Carly McNaul in a semi-final on Saturday at 2:30 pm.
Meanwhile, the Bombers captain Joshua Tukamuhebwa’s quest for a medal at the Games came to an end today when he lost the quarter-final bout to Canada’s Wyatt Sanford on a split decision 4:1.
Tukamuhebwa joins his other countrymen including Jonah Kyobe who lost his bout to Botswana’s George Mulwantwa in the featherweight category and Isaac “Zebra” Ssenyange Junior who bowed out after losing to Arena Pakela of Lesotho in the light middleweight category, and lately Yusuf Nkobeza.
Athletics
In athletics sprinters Shida Leni, and Haron Adoli qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 400m and the men’s edition of the 400-meter respectively.
Leni qualified for the semi-finals when she finished third in heat three of the distance. She clocked 53.65 seconds behind England’s Ama Pipi who won the heat in 52.48 seconds. Haron Adoli finished second in 46.38. He had initially finished third but the heat winner was disqualified for a lane infringement, and consequently, Adoli stormed the second position.
In the same development, para sprinter Fred Masisa failed to qualify for the next round of the T/11 when he finished last in heat two of the qualifying stage. Although he failed to progress through, Masisa posted a personal best time of 12:26 seconds.
