• Bitok further highlighted the urgency to build a team a round teen sensations Emmaculate Nekesa, and Veronicah Adhiambo.
• Adhiambo could be heading to Turkey in the coming weeks because there's a firm interest in her services-Bitok
Image: /FILE
Malkia Strikers coach Paul Bitok insists it’s time to overhaul the national women’s team with an eye on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Bitok said the team’s premature exit at the ongoing World Championship co-hosted by Poland and the Netherlands has provided the perfect opportunity to assemble a new-look team if they are to remain competitive on the global stage.
Malkia Strikers managed just one win in five Pool ‘A’ matches, beating Cameroon but falling to Belgium, Italy, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.
Their performance against superior opposition showed a gulf in class that can only be bridged with fresh talent being tapped and players heading overseas for professional stints.
The decade-long serving former Rwanda coach targets the African Nations Championships next year which will act as qualifiers for the World Cup as ideal competition to expose the juniors.
“Irrespective of whether I’ll still be the coach or not, change is necessary,” Bitok opined.
“Those young players who failed to make the cut for the World Championships will be considered for the Africa Cup of Nations. We need at least five fresh faces by 2024 while there could be room for players from schools.”
“Players like Jemimah Siang’u and Pamela Jepkirui will have their chance,” added Bitok, who is vying for the Kenya Volleyball Federation deputy president position in the upcoming elections.
Bitok, who made history by guiding Malkia to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after a 16-year absence, said there is need to build a team around teen sensations Emmaculate Nekesa and Veronicah Adhiambo.
The duo, a setter and a left attacker respectively, were Malkia’s shining stars amidst the Dutch heartbreak.
“Nekesa and Adhiambo silenced critics and proved us all wrong. Adhiambo could be heading to Turkey in the coming weeks because there’s firm interest in her services. With Chumba gone, the future is bright,” he said.
Bitok also weighed in on Malkia’s reception deficiency which has been Kenya’s Achilles heel for years. He said lack of youth structures is detrimental to the development of the sport.
“Sometimes it’s hard to teach a player basics skills at an advanced age. Basics are meant to be honed at the youth categories and that is lacking,” he observed.