A week after three Kenyan ball teams earned entry into next year's Deaflympics in Brazil, a new selection of the respective teams has been scheduled for three months prior to the May 1-15 games.
Peter Kalae, founder and president of Kenya Sports Federation of the Deaf, said the fresh selection is necessary to come up with the strongest possible teams for the championships.
The national women's football team as well as the men and women's basketball teams will be making their maiden appearance in Caxias do Sul after their respective opponents at the recent African qualifiers in Nairobi failed to show up.
"We are organising another national team selection for the respective ball games teams. The current contract for the teams has already ended and so we need to do another selection. This will be done three months before the Deaflympics whereas the teams will be expected in training camps a month earlier," Kalae said.
Kalae added KSDF has a lot of hope in the teams and believe they can do Kenya — as well as Africa — proud with exceptional performances.
"It was very encouraging and pretty good to have hosted the Deaf Ball Games. We are very glad that at least three of our ball teams qualified. We expect them to commence early preparations for the Deaflympics and we are targeting nothing short of gold or silver. We believe they are capable of doing well on a global stage," he said.
He added: "At present, we are not planning anything else. Our focus is on the Deaflympics in Brazil, which is a global event and that is why we must be equally prepared for it."
However, he bemoaned the place of deaf sports in the society, noting more needs to be done to bring them at par with their hearing counterparts.
"A lot of improvements is needed in the way we handle deaf sports in Kenya. We need early and continuous training of clubs and their involvement in leagues with hearing teams. This will improve deaf sports," Kalae said.
The president added: "We have KSDF, the supreme governing body for deaf sports in Kenya and we require a lot of support especially from other sports disciplines. Deaf sports leaders also need a lot of training in leadership, coaching and officiating to boost the teams."
His sentiments echoed those of Josephat Mukobe, principal secretary for culture and heritage in the Ministry of Sports, who last week urged corporates to step on board and support deaf sports in the country.
She also called on African countries to distinguish between Paralympics and Deaflympics and provide equal resources towards them to ensure deaf sportspersons have every chance to grow their talents to a global level.
