The 6ft7, 22-year-old powerhouse made her mark on the netball world in her opening season last time around and is now looking ahead to another successful campaign.
Cholhok first joined up with Lightning in January 2019, making her debut with the side just days after her arrival in the country. Her progress throughout the season was exceptional, earning her the Vitality Netball Golden Shot award at the Grand Final weekend.
2019 proved to be a big year for Cholhok who became only the second Ugandan netballer to ply her trade outside of her country, following in the footsteps of her fellow countrywoman and ex-Lightning star, Peace Proscovia.
After the 2019 Superleague season, Cholhok travelled back to Uganda to join up with her national side before returning to the UK for the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup.
Cholhok’s performances helped her side to a seventh-place finish, before returning to Uganda to prepare for the African Championships. Here, Cholhok proved instrumental to Uganda’s campaign with the side losing just one match to eventual competition winners South Africa.
Cholhok also ended the competition with more silverware to her name after being named Most Valuable Player.
Returning to Loughborough for her second season, Cholhok will now look to not only build on her successful debut into the league, but to combine her training with study.
“A huge thank you to Loughborough for doing everything to get me back to the team. Last year I learnt how strong I can be and I’m really excited to be once again in the Lightning family and hope we can strive for more this season,” Mary explained.
Head Coach Sara Bayman shared her elation at Cholhok’s return:
“It’s fantastic to have Mary back for another season. After an excellent African Championship with Uganda it’s exciting to get her back in the Lightning environment. She made a big impact last year and really grew into her role so I’m excited to see further progress this year as she builds on the foundations she has set.”
Lightning kick start 2020 with a series of pre-season fixtures, the first two of which are only available to season members.
To witness the new look side in action, visit our ticket page now.
Individual match tickets for the 2020 season will be on sale soon so keep your eyes peeled on Twitter for more information.