Kenyan top women karateka Phanice Apiyo has vowed to learn from her 2015 All Africa Games mistakes as she seeks to return to the festival this month in Morocco.
Apiyo missed out on a bronze four years ago in Congo despite having taken a four-point lead. She regrets her mistakes saying it was painful to have missed out on a podium finish which would have made her the only Kenyan to have achieved the feat.
“To date, I still remember how I gave away the win. I gave away the win because I made some costly mistakes when I had the fight in my hands. I still regret. It was toe-to-toe action and exciting,” Apiyo said as the team entered the second day of the residential camp at Kasarani.
However, Apiyo said she expects a different story to unfold in this year’s event in Rabat as she has worked on her speed which cost her the bronze.
“I had a problem with my speed even in the group stages. I lost one of the preliminary matches on speed and the same came to haunt me in the bronze medal match. This year, I am confident of putting up a different game as I have worked on my speed and I am not going to make any mistakes. It’s a huge event which I and my team-mates can win medals,” said Apiyo, who won an Africa Championship title in South Africa in 2017.
On Kenyan chances, the St Mary High School, Nakuru alumni said Kenya had what it takes to improve on their 2015 performances as the team has had good preparations.
“We have a high chances because the team has trained hard in the last three months and we have seen a lot of improvements,” she said.
Head coach Bon Owiti echoed Apiyo’s sentiment, saying the performances by a number of selected players in the recent international events is a pointer of what they can do.
“All the events that we had in the last two years including the Africa Championships have exposed the players and improved their confidence. We had a number of them getting on podium and this gives us confidence,” Owiti said. Early in the year, Kenya finished seventh at the Africa Championships in Botswana.
All the 11 karateka selected in the squad have international experience which Owiti said will be an advantage for them. He is, however, wary of North African opposition.
