KAMPALA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Ugandans are celebrating their recent performance at the 13th Africans Games in Ghana on March 8-23.

       Uganda collected a record 20 medals to finish 13th on the 54-team list at the prestigious Games. Cyclist Charles Kagimu and badminton pair of Husinah Kobugabe and Gladys Mbabazi bagged golds, while the country's rugby men and women's national teams won golds.

       Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Patrick Ogwel, the General Secretary of the National Council of Sports (NCS), said they are very proud of the team that represented the country.

       "This is the second best performance by Team Uganda at the Games after the 1976 performance where we won nine gold medals," said Ogwel, explaining that this performance is worth celebrating especially for the victories in team events.

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       "It's because of the amount of investment that the government is investing in sports that we are starting to win medals in disciplines where we used not to win," he added.

       State Sports Minister Peter Ogwang also made it clear that this kind of performance which puts Uganda second best in the Zone behind Kenya is a clear indication that there is a lot of positive effort being put by the government to invest in sports.

       "We applaud all the athletes who represented the country and especially those that won medals and carried the nation flag high," added Ogwang.

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       Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) President Donald Rukare also praised the Ugandan team for the good performance. "These 20 medals did not come by luck, but as a result of hard dedicated work," he said.

       Yayiro Kasasa, a former national rugby player now working on the technical wing of the Uganda Rugby Union (URU), echoed: "The performance by the two rugby teams needs a lot of praise because they have proved a point that rugby in the country has improved greatly."

       Janet Mukisa, a strong sports fan, said: "If the government starts putting in more money to prepare athletes, Uganda will start winning more medals at International competitions."