The last time Uganda had a boxer fight at the Olympics games it was in 2008 at the Beijing games in China, then Ronald Sserugo carried the flag before facing a preliminary round exit.
At the same games, light heavy Kennedy Katende presented Sweden, the 31 year old has since changed his mind and returned to fight for Uganda.
And on Friday at the ongoing Africa Olympics Qualifiers in Cameroon, the 31 year old defeated South African South African Luvuyo Sizani in the bronze medal match to land an Olympic slot for Uganda, the first since 2008.
Am thrilled by the achievement, I have been working so hard to achieve this and it has now become a reality, going to the Olympics to represent Uganda is one feeling I can’t explain
katende told Kawowo Sports from Yaoundé.
On Thursday Katende had lost to Algerian and two time Olympian Abdelhafid Benchabla in the semis missing out on the opportunity to qualify for the finals of the competition, which would have given him direct qualification to Brazil.
I gave my best in the semis, but it didn’t go my way, and I didn’t lose hope, I kept on staying focused because the mission was still in touching distance and have been rewarded
Katende can be joined by Sserugo who takes on Moroke Mokhotho from Lesotho, the 2011 bronze medalists for Uganda lost his semifinal bout to Sikho Nqothole in the semis on Thursday
Antanus Mugerwa, Willy Kyakonye, Mike Ssekabembe, and Sula Ssegawa were the other Ugandan boxers at the games but we eliminated at the earlier stages.
Katende’s Background adopted from Daily Monitor
Born March 15, 1985, to Richard Katende and Maureen Birungi (RIP) at Rubaga, Mengo, Kennedy Katende is a devout Catholic.
He attended Happy Hours Primary School, Bwaise-Kampala before his family relocated to Sweden for greener pastures in 1996. In 1997, just a year in the diaspora, his mother died mysteriously.
At 11, he gained excessive weight due to grieving, and his father subjected him to a gruelling training regime. He later joined his big brother Richard Ssemakula, who was already an elite boxer in Sundsvall, Sweden.
Later, he was drafted into the Swedish national team where he featured in the European Championships, representing Sweden at the 2008 Olympics, Katende lost instantly to Russian Artur Beterbiyev.
He says he would have done better but he was just recovering from a fractured right arm, which almost cost him an Olympic slot.
He also played for Mexico Guerreros and USA Knockouts clubs in the Aiba World Series of Boxing since 2012, winning six and losing three bouts.
