Cholhok hopes World Cup will inspire next generation

Experienced Uganda star, Mary Cholhok believes the 2023 Netball World Cup will inspire the next generation of African players.

The She Cranes goal shooter has been leading by example for the eighth-ranked side. She has been commanding the offensive third for the team and guiding the number of the World Cup debutants in their team.

The lanky star is thrilled that there have been a sizable number of young girls who have been able to watch the World Cup matches at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. She hopes that this will spur the young girls to pursue the sport in the hopes to take it to the next level.

“It is really amazing to see how many young girls that are here, getting inspired. It’s really awesome. With all the inspiration they would take from here, I think the girls will have a lot to learn. That is what we want to see, a lot of girls coming and getting inspired,” says Cholhok.

The She Cranes came into the tournament with only two players who had featured in the World Cup before. The 26-year-old and Stella Nanfuka are the only two who had tasted the global competition.

She says they bring experience into the team but they all are working together to take Uganda to new heights.

“It’s about bringing on the leadership and experience into this tournament because there’s two of us who have played in the World Cup before and just bringing the leadership and giving confidence to all the players that step on the court. That we are a team, we are a unit and we’re going to support each other throughout this tournament

"I can work on communicating with those players and encouraging them, just working together as a unit. We are in this seven-on-seven and when we go out, whether outside of the court or on the court we are a team. We have to bond together and nurture each other throughout. I can bring my experience, share my thoughts and then challenge the quarters if they need to make a little bit of adjustments and stuff like that,” she says.

SHOWCASE AFRICAN TALENT TO THE WORLD

Christine Nakitto is one of the players that are experiencing the World Cup for the first time. The goal defence is hoping that the opportunity to play in front of the world will be a window for an opportunity for a professional contract in the near future.

Nakitto says getting the player of the match accolade is one of her goals in this competition.

“I want to be spotted to play in a club, this is my first time playing in the national team. This is a golden chance for me because this is my first time and being in the first seven means I am good. I need to improve on some few mistakes and I know I will improve so that I make it because that is what I am looking for,” says Nakitto.

Cholhok says the African World Cup is an opportunity for African teams to show the world the amount of talent that the continent possesses.

“We want to showcase our talent, especially Uganda. We have been on board for so long. We hadn’t been able to challenge (our opposition), our performance today has been phenomenal and we just need to work on a little things that we need to touch on as African countries but the talent is definitely there. The World Cup is to showcase what Africa can do and to put more awareness out there on African countries. There are so many young netballers that could come and learn from this experience and see how much netball can grow in Africa,” she explains.

The sport of netball is still not professional on the continent. Uganda have had a few players that have had the opportunity to play professional netball in other countries.

The She Cranes team has Cholhok, Peace Proscovia, and Stella Oyella who are based in the United Kingdom, competing in the SuperLeague for Loughborough Lightning, Surrey Storm, and Strathclyde Sirens respectively.

Although Proscovia and Oyella were part of the 30-player provisional squad, they were both ruled out of the World Cup due to ill health and knee injury, respectively.

Cholkok says playing with professional players is an inspiration she hopes many players in Uganda can experience.

“It's just me, Peace, and Stella Oyella. There are just two Uganda professionals. The two are not here because of issues they have. Oyella has an injury and Peace also has a medical suspension that is injury related. It’s very good to have professionals so that we get inspired and also to get exposure to the rest of the girls,” she says.