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Edwin Ekiring Provides Hope for Uganda
"The Grand Essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for" said Allan K. Chambers. Edwin Ekiring provides Uganda with hope. He is a talented young badminton athlete.
He is one of the most recognized athletes in Uganda. The hope Edwin Ekiring provides for Uganda is important because of the dire and tough situations that Uganda faces on a daily basis. Such as Uganda's problems with violence and HIV/AIDS that are prominent in the country.
Edwin Ekiring is the best badminton player in Uganda. He has broken into the top 100 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. Edwin Ekiring has won several tournaments and opens. He won the annual Aqua Sipi Badminton Open. Equally important, Edwin Ekiring also on February 28, 2008 won the Mauritis International Championship that is recognized by the World Badminton Association.
He on the way to winning it, upset three higher ranked players. The three players he upset were Nikil Kencata of India, Italy's Raffeiner Klaus and Spain's Carlos Longo. In addition, he won a bronze medal at the All African Games in Algiers, Algeria. He is still continually improving his game. His determination keeps him from giving up when he has a few setbacks or losses. Moreover, Edwin Ekiring was a favorite to win the Roofings International tournament that was on February 18th.
Uganda needs something to give them hope because of the tough conditions that have to live in on a daily basis. Uganda has been dealing with a brutal two decade insurgency that is being led by a rebel group called Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). There have been upwards of two million Ugandan people uprooted from their homes.
In addition, there have been over 20,000 children abducted and at height of the conflict violence and disease killed 1,000 a week. The LRA is extremely brutal. They are known for slicing off the lips of survivors, kidnapping children for use as soldiers and sex slaves. It's gotten so bad that United Nations (UN) is calling for end to the civilian massacres in Uganda and Congo.
Edwin Ekiring provides hope that is needed in Uganda. He made his fellow Ugandans proud when he became the first ever Ugandan Badminton player to represent Uganda in the Olympics at the 2008 Beijing Games. A lot of Ugandans were happy when he made the Olympics his coach Simon Mugabi said "It is great he has made it. It is what all of us have been praying for".
He was one of only a total of four Ugandans that participated in the Olympics the others were swimmer Aya Nakitanda, swimmer Gilbert Kaburu and boxer Ronald Serigo. He had a few other Ugandan first as well. He became the first Ugandan to win a medal at the 9th All Africa Games.
Equally important, Edwin Ekiring became the first badminton player to play in a professional league. He in July 23, 2008 signed for Luxemburgish to play in a German badminton league. He is showing by his accomplishments that success is possible in Uganda regardless of the harsh living conditions.
Edwin Ekiring is only 25 years old. He is still young and will accomplish a lot more in badminton. He will continue to be a symbol of hope for Uganda. He also has help make badminton more popular in Uganda so that it may one day be as popular with other Ugandan favorites such as soccer, cricket and rugby.
He has broken several barriers for Ugandan badminton. He will continue to bring the limelight to Uganda badminton and help put it on the map.
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