Against all odds, Mutambuze conquered the world of table tennis

Paul Mutambuze is a colossal figure in the world of table tennis in Uganda and beyond. His name is etched down as a true Ugandan sports legend who has served the game for five decades while overcoming countless obstacles in a sport often overlooked by many without burning out.His 50-year storied career has spanned continents, from his humble beginnings in Uganda to competing at the All Africa Games, three World Championships and the 1996 Olympics.Mutambuze has become a beacon of hope, perseverance and dedication for generations of players to admire and learn. He is self-built.He takes us back in time, recounting his early fascination with table tennis, developed in a dining hall at Mwiri Primary School in Jinja and the challenges he faced in the 1970s and 80s that are still biting.He sat down with Daily Monitor’s Fred Mwambu to reflect on his personal and professional growth, the evolving landscape of table tennis, and the untapped potential of the sport in Uganda. His journey is one of resilience, passion, and an unwavering commitment to a sport he loves.What does it take to play and serve one sport for 50 good years?I don’t even believe it's 50 years already. It has just rolled away like one page. But it means a lot; it’s something that I can’t sit and narrate all in one sitting but a whole month. It’s my whole life.Where did you get the interest to play such an unpopular game in the 60s?I got interested in the game while at Mwiri Primary School. I grew up playing almost all games including football, basketball and several others until I found one sport that could be played in all weather – and that was table tennis.Who influenced you? No, no one influenced me. I just picked interest. They used to play it in the dining hall most times so I would just hang around and watch other students playing. At first only the big boys were allowed to play so I kept on the side trying to learn how to count and lay strategies.By the time I came to play, I was not a complete beginner and instead, I was better than most players.How did TT shape your career and education early in that stage?When I started playing, I became good immediately and that helped me a lot when I crossed over to Busoga College Mwiri. The big boys were also favoured at Mwiri but because I had some old boys who knew that I was a good player, I slotted in very easily and even started playing. I knew this is what I wanted and everything I did, was bent towards it. What challenges did you face as a young Ugandan athlete growing up in the 70s and 80s in Uganda?This was a by-the-way sport both at school and the nation that didn’t attract so much attention. That was a big challenge because we were serious alone.How did you cope?It was just by sheer luck that we had some students who had brothers and sisters playing for the national team. So, these students had the equipment for playing. That way, we were encouraged to play because we didn’t even have coaches and had only one table for all of us. It was largely because of that and the love for the sport that kept us moving. Only the strong ones like me kept on.Did your family understand what you were undertaking?I hid from them because they would definitely stop me immediately. I was quiet until one day in 1976 when I appeared in the newspapers after winning my first non-junior title during a national tournament in Jinja . A family friend saw my name and went and told my parents who were simply shocked.How did the national team spot you in an era of minimal media coverage?I can say it was largely a personal initiative. There was a tournament that was held in Kampala but the school said there was no money to fund the trip. So we went on our own in 1975 but didn’t perform very well. We learnt a lot that when we returned in ’76, we reached the semifinals and I went on to win the national junior title. That is how my star started shining.How does it feel on the first day in the national team?Sad. We were supposed to travel to Benin and then to Mexico but unfortunately, there weren’t enough tickets so I was dropped and missed that opportunity. However, I made the team the following year and went to Nairobi for the Kenya Open. We dominated the tournament in the juniors but the unique thing was that we were the only blacks playing at the tournament because the rest were Indians and whites.What inspired you to relocate to Nairobi?I won my first men’s singles title in 1980 but I looked around and realized that we had a few events in Uganda as compared to Kenya because I had travelled there twice in ’77 and ’80 and witnessed. Kenya looked like they had the greener pastures. Generally, I played at least 15 major competitions every year around East Africa and only lost 5 times during my stay  in Kenya.I also got a part-time job and started coaching at St. Mary’s School, Msongari.How did you juggle coaching and playing at that age in a new country?It was a top school around that time and I needed some money for upkeep. I would balance by coaching during the day and training myself during the evenings and nights.Talk about your first major continental tournament, the Africa Games.Very few countries used to play table tennis by then but again, I used to train very hard. Participation in the All Africa Games was open to all countries that played it and I was blessed to qualify for the 1987 event that was held in Kenya. I was also lucky that by then there was a Chinese coach who trained the Kenya national team. He also trained me a lot and I was among his favourites.From 1987, I also competed in the next edition in Cairo in 1991 but it was the following in Harare, Zimbabwe 1995 that I won my first medal, a bronze.How did you achieve that?
Locally I didn’t have very stiff competition so I had to step up. By 1990 I had gone to Italy to play semi-professional and that built me a lot. Oh, yes, I was in Italy.How did you land a club in Italy at such a time?Initially, it was a very tough experience because I wasn’t known to Italians. I moved from small clubs trotting around but it took me a long time. I almost quit but I hadn’t travelled and suffered all that just to quit. I found a small club one day and they gave me only ten minutes. You know most of them had not even seen a black person physically.So there was a player who was among the best around who felt pity and approached me. He asked me whether I knew how to play and I nodded in affirmative but it was when I pulled out my equipment that they believed. That was the deal-breaker.I had played against the then reigning world champion Jörgen Persson (Danish) in the Italian Open a few weeks before. He liked my game and gave me his rubbers and equipment. We had met in Kenya earlier.So, when these players saw my equipment, one of their best was astonished and asked to play me in a match. Everyone stopped playing to watch us and that’s when they knew that I was good. I immediately got deals but settled for G.S Caserta Club.How did you go to Italy in the first place?It was by accident. I was on the way to Morocco for the Africa Championships and we transited through there. So, on my way back I decided to search for opportunities because at that time Italy was visa-free. I learnt of an upcoming Italian Open and decided to hang around and wait.What was life like in Italy because even now, people complain a lot about racism?It wasn’t easy but the moment you start learning the languages like I did, life becomes easier. Then there’s the aspect of sports that you can go to a place where they don’t speak English but your game speaks for you. While there, I was also approached by a para club from a remote area to coach their team.How did it go?I went to train with them and they took me. We travelled with them for big para-competitions which I don’t think I had seen. They had different disabilities but were playing with extreme passion which motivated me a lot.There’s one of the players I coached who went on to become a national champion and then won a medal at the Olympics (Paralympic 1992).Why is it hard for Ugandan TT players to reach those professional heights these days?It is not easy nowadays because the first thing they ask is a world ranking. To get rankings, you must participate in international tournaments and on top of that, perform well to earn good points. Those tournaments now have stiff qualifying competitions so you can see.How did that move to Italy impact your career?It was a very huge stepping stone. Participating in top competitions in Italy meant that I frequently faced the top players from the world including world champions. This gave me the much-needed experience and that’s why I was very calm and confident while leading my team at the All Africa Games in 1995 until we won bronze. Other countries had advanced and had players in Europe so it was a bit easier for me to face them with that experience. This climaxed with my qualifying for the Olympics.Tell us about the Olympics, how did you make the grade?We went to Nigeria for qualifiers for the Olympics immediately after the AAG. I went with two other ladies – Mary Musoke and John Kyakobye- and we all qualified for the 1996 Olympics that were to be held in Atlanta in the USA.How did you perform?It was tough with a lot of experiences gained. I didn’t win a match but I was in a group with top players from Europe and another Chinese player who won the pool and went all the way up to the final. But I gained invaluable experience.How hard was it to qualify for the Olympics then?It is not easy now nor was it those days. For me to qualify, I had to stay out there playing in top competitions in Italy, that's if you really want to know the cost of qualifications then.What makes it challenging now is that the Arab countries have relatives all over and have passports there and here in Africa. So what they do is return to Africa only to play those qualifiers. They don’t even speak African languages.So, what can Uganda do to match that?Either we decide to participate in as many international competitions and earn world ranking points which need huge investments or find opportunities to go and play professionally in those top nations and leagues. Otherwise, it will be very hard.How much did you benefit from the Olympics?First of all, we were awarded honorary citizenship because of the activities that we did during the training camp in Atalanta like coaching, exhibitions and many others. It was a really big honour and opened the way for so many top tournaments.From there I played in World Championships in the City of Manchester, England in 1997, Eindhoven, Netherlands in 1999 and Dortmund, Germany in 2012.What experience did you gain from these top championships?There was wild table tennis that I had not yet seen. I watched and played with the best and that’s why I wasn’t moved by anything when I came back to Africa.What are those chronic challenges that affected athletes throughout your playing days and are still persistent up to now?Funding. There’s no way you can maintain players without organizing competitions locally and participating internationally. Equipment is very expensive which demoralizes one to buy when he has nothing to play for. We had several tournaments those days but these days they've been reduced because of lack of sponsorship.In Kenya it was a bit easier because there were clubs that supported players but it was difficult here until maybe around last year when the government started pumping in something. If this money is used very well, it will promote it.How well can you utilize the little government funding for TT if you were in charge?First and foremost, I would spread the sport countrywide. It is an easy sport to spread because it can be played virtually anywhere. even in homes that have a small table. Anything wooden and flat is a good start.Your leaders complain that they need better indoor facilities, do you think that’s a priority for the game to take off?An arena is important, yes, but even in Kenya, they don’t have [a national facility] but clubs have facilities which can be turned into training centres. We can do that here as well.We urgently need capacity-building programs to increase the trainers and personnel and improve funding to provide equipment.Do you think the government and our society have done enough to care for legends like you?They haven’t but maybe they’re innocently ignorant about what we’re able to do. For example, you can imagine that at my peak I was able to be awarded an honorary US citizenship. I think there’s a lot I’m capable of doing for my country because I’m tired of promoting other countries while mine lags behind. It will save me from numerous travels as I concentrate on projects around my own country.Anything else?First, I think even at the international level, people do not know what TT can do for a society. It hurts me to the core to see that the prize money of top tournaments in [lawn] tennis is over $2m (Shs7.4b) while table tennis is just around $300,000 (Shs1.1b).What legacy are you leaving behind in TT?There’s a lot but to start with, I set up Mutaz Sports Centre which is based in Jinja where I come from. So far we have organized three editions of its tournament with the recent one pulling more than 150 players to Jinja. I want us to build it into an international event that will attract top talent shortly and give a chance to Ugandans to compete at the top.I want to use it to recruit players and build the capacity of trainers.Where do you see the future of TT?
It depends largely on the (Uganda Table Tennis Association) and its leadership. So far the current leader (Robert Jjagwe) has had many issues but one thing I support about him is taking the sport to the media.That includes live-streaming of games because people in China, the US, Europe and out there will watch our players. It builds mileage that will also attract sponsors.What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self when you first started playing?One thing that got me far is discipline. That will get a player far. The other is dedication.How do you view Sir Joseph Sebatindira from your lens?He is a very unique and marvellous boy, I can confess that! But what we have to know is that Uganda can produce more like him but we need support. You can imagine with a little funding, we’re able to produce a world junior number one – Joseph Sebatindira! This is something that could be exciting to other countries out there.If president Museveni appointed you his presidential advisor for TT, what would you start with?I will go down on my knees and ask him to provide funds to make TT a national sport.  That means buying equipment and spreading the game throughout the country, to schools, universities and town halls. We have a lot of potential in TT and should really exploit it.