The competition may have ended, but the work on the sand continued.

Just one day after the Africa AirBadminton Championships came to a close in Entebbe, coaches and players from across Africa returned to the courts for another important chapter in the development of the sport.

From 20 to 22 September, the BWF-BCA AirBadminton Training Camp brought together participants from 10 African countries — Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Egypt, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tunisia and Uganda.

Led by BWF Global AirBadminton Expert Vincent W. Wong, the three-day camp focused on learning, development and the sharing of experiences, with the aim of strengthening AirBadminton knowledge and helping the sport continue to grow across the continent.

For Wong, the camp represented a significant personal milestone.

As the first BWF Global AirBadminton Expert, it was his first opportunity to lead a training camp on such a large scale. Despite the challenges of working outdoors and managing intense circuit-based sessions within limited space, he said the commitment of the coaches and players made the experience particularly memorable.

“When the sun hits the sand and the air is filled with the crisp sound of rackets and roaring laughter — that is the undeniable, one-of-a-kind magic of AirBadminton,” Wong reflected.

The camp was not simply about technical exercises. Players and coaches had to adapt to the realities of playing outdoors, from changing sand conditions to the influence of the wind.

Footwork was tested on shifting sand, while drills demanded concentration, physical effort and discipline. At the same time, the sessions created an opportunity for participants from different countries and backgrounds to learn from one another.

For Wong, that combination is at the heart of AirBadminton.

“Together, we wrestled with the wind, fine-tuned our footwork on shifting sand, and fused sweat with sheer joy,” he said, describing the experience as a reminder of the ability of outdoor badminton to break boundaries and bring communities together through sport.

The success of the camp also depended heavily on the people working behind the scenes.

Wong expressed his gratitude to the BWF, the Badminton Confederation Africa and the Uganda Badminton Association for their support in making the camp possible, while also recognising the coaches whose dedication helped keep the three-day programme running smoothly.

And for the players, the message was equally clear: their energy, discipline and willingness to embrace new methods were central to the experience.

At its core, the camp was about passing knowledge on.

The objective was not simply to teach skills for three days, but to empower coaches and players with knowledge that can be taken back to their own countries and shared with others.

That is what makes development camps such an important part of the growth of AirBadminton in Africa. The lessons learned in Entebbe do not have to remain in Entebbe. They can travel with the participants, reaching clubs, coaches and players across the continent.

For Wong, Uganda was therefore more than another stop on the AirBadminton calendar. It became the beginning of a new chapter.

“This journey to Uganda has been a breathtaking new chapter and a masterclass in adaptability,” he said. “The outdoor evolution continues.”

And with coaches and players from 10 African nations leaving the camp with new knowledge, new experiences and new connections, that evolution is already moving forward.

The men’s doubles competition reached the point where there was no room left for a quiet finish. On 19 September at Aero Beach, the quarter-finals and semi-finals brought long rallies, changing momentum and some very close games as the remaining pairs fought for a place in the final.

Benin’s Oswald Fano-Dosh and Carlos Kpanou had already made their presence felt in the earlier rounds, but the quarter-final against Algeria’s M. Kessari and S. Kiouar presented a different challenge.

Algeria started the match well, taking the opening game 9–4. Benin did not allow the early setback to affect them, responding with a 9–4 win of their own in the second game. The third was much closer, with Benin eventually edging it 11–9 before finding greater control in the fourth game and closing out the match 9–1.

The 3–1 victory sent Fano-Dosh and Kpanou into the semi-finals, where another Egyptian challenge was waiting.

Abdelsattar and Ashraf A. made the semi-final a contest that kept moving from one side to the other. Benin took the first game 9–5, but Egypt fought back in the second, winning 12–10 after a tight battle.

Egypt then moved ahead by taking the third game 9–7. Benin, however, refused to let the match go. They produced their strongest response of the contest in the fourth, winning 9–3 and forcing a deciding fifth game.

With a place in the final on the line, Benin managed to find the points that mattered most. Fano-Dosh and Kpanou won the fifth game 9–7 to complete a 3–2 victory and secure their place in the final.

The other semi-final was just as demanding. Egypt’s M. Hesham Hassan and A. Salah faced NOC-Kenya’s Sammy Mdogo Sikoyo and Edwin Akwanyi after the Kenyan pair had impressed throughout the earlier rounds.

NOC-Kenya had already shown its ability to handle pressure, but Egypt started strongly in the semi-final, taking the opening game 9–5. The Kenyan pair responded in the second, edging Egypt 12–10.

Egypt regained the lead with a 9–7 third game and then moved within one game of the final after taking the fourth 9–3. NOC-Kenya kept fighting, but Egypt closed out the fifth game 9–7 to win 3–2.

The result set up an all-Egypt versus Benin final, with both pairs having survived five-game semi-finals on their way to the last match.

For Benin, Fano-Dosh and Kpanou had overcome Algeria and Egypt to reach the final. For Egypt, the route had included a hard-fought victory over NOC-Kenya. Both pairs had been tested, and both had found a way through.

With the final now decided, attention at Aero Beach turned to the last battle of the men’s doubles competition.

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