Callum Smith claims first international medal at Kampala Open
Scotland’s Callum Smith has taken a silver medal at the Kampala Open in Uganda, marking his first international medal.
Speaking to Smith on his preparation for the tournament he said “Before coming to Uganda, I had a solid 3 week block since my most recent tournament in Latvia. My training wasn’t changed to fit around Uganda. Once I arrived I managed to get in two on court training sessions where I was just getting a feel for the hall.”
Despite the stellar result it did not come easy from conditions to having to play a game he was not expecting to play. “The hall conditions were nothing I’d ever played in before, a very fast shuttle as well as hard, slippery flooring.”
Smith’s first game was against a home soil player Kenneth Comfort Mwambu where he didn’t feel confident in his performance despite winning in straight games. “I was again getting another feel for the hall this time on the match day and I knew I had a tough round of 16 match.”
Dicky Dwi Pangestu from Azerbaijan had won a bronze at the Latvian Open last month, a tournament that Smith was knocked out in the first round of. “I went into the match very confident and with a good head space after speaking with my coaches [Ingo and David]. I played well from there and proceeded through the rounds.”
In the quarter final Smith was pushed to three games: 21-18, 14-21, 21-17, winning the semi in two but with a nail biting 26-24 winning set over Alessandro Gozzini of Italy.
“As the tournaments went on my level, my level did drop slightly because of nerves. I never ever get nervous but I think knowing that I was playing for my first ever medal which was getting to my head a bit.”
The final was mentally draining for Smith where he struggled to get in the right headspace to win to take on the number two seed Manraj Singh. “My mind went completely blank, normally I am very good at recognising patterns and plays that the opposition give me but I couldn’t pick up on anything which was hard to take.”
Despite being frustrated Smith viewed being thrown off as a good learning experience, actually being excited to get back to Scotland dissect the competitions to figure out a way to heighten his play for the future.
Before returning to Scotland, Callum Smith is immediately back on court from the 4 October, playing in the Ugandan International series, spurred on by his support and messages back home. “I feel confident in my abilities to get another similar result, if not better. I’m used to the hall, I know how to play in there now so there is no excuse as to why it can’t be repeated.”
With a similar draw to last week’s tournament, Smith will play some of the same players. “I know I’m capable of beating these players which is fuelling my motivation even more.”
To Watch Callum at the Ugandan Open from Friday click here: (2) Uganda Badminton Association #UBA – YouTube