Zawedde has an unbreakable bond with woodball

 

 

Zawedde threw away her first love (basketball) and fell for woodball in 2008.

 

And by the look of things and the level of successes attained, she has no regrets.

 

"They always said I couldn't survive in basketball because I was short, and I think it was God's calling. I think the Almighty wanted to show me a sport that would lift me up there," said Zawedde.

 

She added, "That is how I got to start involving myself into playing woodball."

 

The mother of two has since lived to testify on the growth and development of the sport in the country and mention of woodball in Uganda and Africa, the first name that crosses your mind is Zawedde.

 

She has been a star in the making and has kept the Ugandan flag up in the sky at most of the international events where she has featured.

 

She became a woodball phenomenon on the African continent and the world over for her perfect ball-driving skills and good game reading while on any kind of woodball fairway.

 

Basing on her performances both on the local and international scene, she became the world's number three in the women's category from 2014 until last season when the Ndejje Corporate player dropped to fifth place internationally.

 

But her seed one position in Africa has not changed.

 

She has been at four Woodball World Cups and competed at several open events among others; Thailand, China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong where her worst performance has been a bronze medal.

 

"Most athletes are not ready to fund their own costs for international events, but I have done it so many times and I don't regret," she noted.

 

Inspired by tennis player Serena Williams, Zawedde is also not ready to give up on the sport she loves the most.

 

"Serena was able to come back to active sports after giving birth and this makes me believe a sports career does not end when you become a mother like it is the case with most local athletes."

 

Because of her zeal, Zawedde has encouraged others to take up woodball and other sports disciplines at higher institutions of learning in her capacity as a scholarship officer at Ndejje University.

 

Those who testify to Zawedde's influence to get into the sport include national team players Joan Mukoova, Joyce Nalubega, Denise Nanjeru, Joel Adupa, and Kenneth Bukenya.