SA women's badminton team dominates at the All-Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Championships

JOHANNESBURG – South African women’s badminton team ended Mzansi’s 12-year wait in the All-Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Championships by coming from behind to defeat Uganda 3-2.

This sixth title is South Africa’s first since 2012 at the All-Africa Championships that took place in Cairo, Egypt from 12-18 February.

“What this meant to me and as a team, we had to sacrifice so much in order to reach this type of goal. So knowing that we could stand together in the losses and the wins in unity made this win mean the world to us,” said team SA's Johanita Scholtz.

For the final in Cairo, singles players Gladys Mbabazi and Husina Kobugabe put Uganda two-up with straight-game victories over Deidre Laurens and Diane Oliver respectively.

“This win means so much to me. It was my third Thomas and Uber Championship and the first time making it past the semi-finals and being able to bring home gold to South Africa. It is a great deal and makes me extremely proud to represent South Africa,” said Africa's top doubles player Amy Ackerman.

Third singles Scholtz started South Africa’s revival with a 21-11, 21-14 win over Fadilah Shamika Mohamed Rafi before the doubles pairings of Ackerman/Deidre Laurens and Megan De Beer/Scholtz put two more points on the board to seal the gold medal.

“⁠I would just say thanks to everyone at home. All the messages and encouragement helped me to be confident. We as a team we were one not just us five players but one with South Africa and for that we are grateful,” said Scholtz.

The winning nations will represent the continent at the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 in Chengdu, China in April.

“I would like to send a huge thank you to all of our family and friends who have supported us throughout the competition with their messages and phone calls even little posts on social media. It helps keep us motivated and knowing that everyone backs us just made us believe in ourselves more,” said Ackerman.

In the men’s final, Algeria took home the title for the fourth straight time, after recovering from being 2-0 down against Nigeria.

“The hardest part of the African Championships so far has been keeping our bodies up to fighting standards so we can perform at our best with every match. And for us being on the Road to Paris every game counts so mentally we also need to stay strong,” said Ackerman.

Ackerman and Laurens have won the women's doubles at the All-Africa Championships for the second year in a row. The pair beat Mbabazi/Kabugabe from Uganda 21-11, 21-15 in the final.

“With every team match we had a lot of pressure riding on us. I think it became more realistic that we could win as we got further and we all knew that we all had to play our part and put in our best efforts. I think I speak for the whole team that we all had goosebumps with every point we played knowing we were coming closer to claiming gold. And that was when all the excitement kicked in,” said Ackerman.

The Badminton Championships is a continental stage tournament of the Thomas and Uber Cups. It is organised by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) to crown the best national men's and women's badminton teams in Africa.

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