Africa's top shuttler Paul advances in Uganda event

KAMPALA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Africa's top shuttler Georges Julien Paul has advanced to the second round of the men's singles at the on-going 2018 Uganda International Badminton Open Championship.

Paul, from Mauritius who also won the All Africa Seniors men's singles title last weekend in Algeria, humbled Uganda's Herbert Ebayo 21-11, 21-12 on Friday at the Lugogo Arena, Kampala.

The defending champion used his quick attacks to give the Ugandan no chance to win the game. "I am determined to try and retain the title I won last year," Paul who is ranked 87th in the world told Xinhua after the game.

Paul will now face Jordan's Mohd Naser Mansour Nayef on Saturday. The Jordan player defeated Uganda's Fred Kirabo 21-10, 21-12.

Bahaedeen Ahmed Alshannik from Jordan who is the tournament's second seeded player survived an upset when Victor Odra Munga (Kenya) who went through the qualifiers forced him to the third set before he won 21-13, 19-21, 21-13.

Uganda's top player who plies his trade in Luxembourg, Edwin Ekiring, a finalist at last year's event shockingly lost to Jonathan Persson (Germany) 21-10, 21-18.

"I completely failed to get the rhythm of the game and made several mistakes," said Ekiring who had played at two Olympic Games in Beijing and London.

The 18-year-old local player Brian Kasirye is the only Ugandan men's players who made it to the next round after stopping Kenya's John Wanyoke 21-18, 21-14. He will next face an acid test against Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Panarin.

In the women's singles, top seed Kate Foo Kune (Mauritius) and Egypt's Hadia Hosny who is ranked second all advanced to the next round.

The finals of the championship sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) will be held on Sunday.

The championship has attracted players from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Algeria, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, India, the Netherlands, Syria, Germany, France, Turkey, Zambia and the Republic of Maldives and others.