Kenyan umpire Peter Obalo is looking forward to officiating at the Commonwealth Games after being appointed by the Federation of International Hockey.
Obalo and a South African, are the only two Africans lined up for the whistle while Esther Adolwa will be a technical official.
This will be Obalo's first major senior assignment after spending the better part of his career doing duty with the juniors.
Adolwa, on the other hand, was part of the technical panel for the African Road to the Tokyo 2020 women's competition in South Africa.
The no-nonsense and ever-fit official was selected for the 16-nation men's Junior World Cup in India, in November last year.
He also served in the same capacity during the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos, Argentina 2018, and remains Kenya's most respected referee because of his spot-on decisions despite his age.
Obalo was in Malaysia in October 2019 for the 9th Sultan of Johor U-21 International Invitational competition.
"It is a pleasure to do duty in Birmingham. I have tremendous experience dealing with the juniors but a competition of this magnitude gives me the opportunity to prove that I can handle bigger assignments," Obalo said.
The 36-year-old has endeared himself to the fans because of his professionalism. His passion for the game is second to none since he received his first umpiring cap in 2015 in the African Cup of Nations.
"Actually, I didn't expect it. Maybe it came a bit too early but at the same time, it is a sign of progress. I have certain objectives to achieve and the Birmingham show offers me a roadmap to attain my targets."
He added: "Opportunities like this are rare. I have to repay the faith shown in me by FIH by managing matches well."
Obalo started his hockey journey in 2001 while playing for Mombasa Institute now the Technical University of Mombasa.
