Kenya’s national men’s football and basketball teams exited the 24th Summer Deaflympics in Caxias Do Sul, without recording a win.
Despite being eliminated from the ongoing championships, the football coach Ben Bella and his basketball counterpart Jeff Mwaniki said the event was a learning curve for their teams.
Bella and Mwaniki at the same time called for concerted efforts in supporting the deaf games.
Kenya's national women’s deaf football succumbed to a 13-0 loss against the US at the Estadio Estrela Soccer Field in their last game of the competition.
In earlier games, Kenya lost 12-0 against Japan in the opener before losing 8-1 to hosts Brazil. Against Poland Bella’s charges lost 8-0.
In basketball, Kenya lost 118 -14 to Poland. They had earlier been beaten 143-18 by powerhouses US and also lost 91-37 against Israel. In the other game, Mwaniki’s team lost 85-30 against Poland.
“Other countries start preparations very early age contrary to Kenya. Most of our players started playing when they were already adults. We must start nurturing talent at infancy if we are to grow in the game,” he added.
On his part, Mwaniki said: “The team kept improving with each passing day in the Championship. In every game we played, there were moments of exemplary both offensively and defensively despite being short-lived.”
He added: "For us to compete at the International level, deaf youth basketball programs and league should be awakened. Deaf basketball coaches and referees should also be empowered. We ought to train, prepare and expose our deaf athletes like the rest in the world."
The team finished last in the group which Mwaniki termed as the strongest.
Mwaniki added: “The young players need to be exposed at a young age at the junior championship. This will ensure they grow in the game and compete for Kenya in future events," he added.
