Feature: Ugandan athletes strive to tap into China's interest to develop sports

In the rugged mountainous district of Bukwo, eastern Uganda, young athletes scale the hills and slopes every morning, hoping one day to make it to the international stage.

And indeed some of their peers have won medals.

Stephen Kiprotich, who won Uganda gold at the 2012 London Olympics marathon as well as many other top athletes, are an inspiration to the young athletes in this remote part of the east African country.

Five athletes, many of whom have trained here, on Thursday left for the Nanjing International marathon in China scheduled on Sunday. They expect to show case their talent and perhaps win medals in the eastern Chinese city.

"With the preparation I have been doing, I hope to win a medal in China," Alex Malinga, a national athlete and coach told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

While there is a lot of enthusiasm from the young athletes to make it to the international arena, they have to go an extra mile unlike their colleagues elsewhere.

With no training ground, the athletes, with their worn-out shoes, scale the hills. Others, who can afford, move to neighboring Kenya where there are training facilities.

With China's increasing interest in sports, the athletes in Uganda believe this could be a window of opportunity to develop the sport in the country.

China has constructed several stadiums in Africa, and the athletes believe that Uganda can tap into these offers to develop especially long-distance running.

Solomon Mutai, one of Uganda's top athletes who participated in the Rio Olympics marathon, told Xinhua that what is critical for Uganda is a training facility.

He said many Ugandan athletes have the capacity to win medals but they need the right training facilities just like their colleagues in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.

Mutai, who also won bronze at the 2015 World Championship in China, said countries like China can help construct the training facilities.

He said the bitter lesson he learnt from the Rio Olympics is that one needs to prepare ahead of time by using the appropriate facilities.

Experts argue that Bukwo is one of the suitable places for training, especially in long distance running, because of its high altitude. The place however lacks appropriate training facilities.

Uganda has had plans to construct several training facilities in the area but it is faced with funding challenges, according to officials. Endit