Ekiring: Chance for a come-back

By Norman Katende in London

London 2012 Olympic Games, Today: Badminton
E. Ekiring (Uganda) v  W. Wing (Hong Kong)

Edwin Ekiring has a fresh opportunity to redeem his campaign at the London 2012 Olympic Games today.

Having lost his first game to Brice Leverdez of France in his opening Group F match, Ekiring is now up against the world number 16 seed Wong Wing of Hong Kong.

The All Africa Games silver medallist who has a world ranking of 36, admitted that he did not play well in the first match.

Ekiring, the only African in the men’s singles, went down to a more skilled Frenchman Brice Leverdez 21-12, 21-11.

“I did not play to my best but Leverdez had a better game,” Ekiring remarked after a training session yesterday.

The player promised to correct his mistakes in today’s game. Ekiring’s coach Simon Mugabi said that, “Ekiring will try to play his game."

Meanwhile, Sports fans attending the London Olympics were told by Olympic bosses on Sunday to avoid sending

non-urgent text messages and tweets during events because an overloaded network was affecting television coverage.

Coverage of the men’s road cycling race on Saturday left many viewers in the dark at times, including details on how far back the chasing pack was from the leaders.

Commentators were unable to get timing information due to issues surrounding the communications network of the GPS satellite navigation system.

It was particularly annoying for the home crowd, who had tuned into to watch what had been billed as one of Britain’s best chances of winning an early gold medal with sprint king Mark Cavendish. Many vented their anger on Twitter at the lack of information –– and their disappointment at Cavendish’s eventual defeat.

The International Olympic Committee said it was a network issue.