Kenya men’s beach volleyball team will once again feature in the 11th edition of All Africa Games scheduled for Brazzaville, Congo in September. The event becomes the third Kenyan team sport to qualify for the games after handball men and women’s sides.
The Kenyan duo of Ulinzi skipper Sila Makiso and his Prisons Kenya counterpart Ibrahim Oduori made the All Africa Games cut after finishing third in the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone Five beach volleyball qualification tournament.
All the semi finalists in the just concluded CAVB Zone Five event over the weekend in Dar-es-Salaam qualified for the Brazaville show. The pair of former Kenyan internationals trounced Egypt 2-0 (22-20, 21-17) for win the third place playoff.
In the semis, Team Kenya lost 1-2 (14-21, 21-11, 12-15) to rivals Rwanda while in the second semi, Burundi trounced the North Africans 2-1 (21-12, 19-21, 15-12). In the finals, Rwanda recovered from their 2-1 loss to Burundi in a Pool ‘A’ match to beat the latter 2-0 (21-12, 21-19) to win the tournament.
The team now has got four solid months to prepare for the games. Coach Patrick Owino is certain that with maximum support from Kenya Volleyball Federation and the government, his charges can bring home gold medal.
“We are determined to win gold medal for Kenya in Brazzaville. However, this can only be realised if the players ambitions are backed up with the provision of all the relevant and adequate training facilities and equipment,” noted Owino.
In the 10th edition of the tournament, also known as the Pan African Games, the men’s teams didn’t finish in the medal bracket. Cameroon won the men’s title where as Algeria and Ghana were second and third respectively. In the women’s category, Algeria defeated Cameroon in the finals.
The women’s qualifiers are set to be held in the second week of May in Kenya. In 2011, Margaret Indakala and sensational Dorcas Ndasaba were bronze medallists.