National beach volleyball duo of Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Agala have lamented over the short period in training prior to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The two are set to start their fixtures on Saturday at the Smithfield in Birmingham.
Makokha admitted that it has not been a walk in the park and they have had to struggle in training. " Let us face it; we are trying to catch up now because we never had enough time in training," she said.
Makokha said she treated the World Championships in Italy in June as a build-up because she was not well prepared for the event.
“My beach volleyball journey has been challenging. Considering that I stay in Nairobi, going down to Mombasa to train has not been easy.
Our sponsors have equally struggled catering for our needs. As far as beach volleyball is concerned,they only come in the last two weeks before major championships,” Makokha said.
“That is why the championships in Italy was more of a training platform fior me because I was ill prepared. In all honesty, I trained for one week before traveling to Italy,” she added.
Makokha said she is aware of the fierce competition that waits them but has promised to give it her best shot. She also outlined some of the areas they need to work on if they are to perform in Birmingham.
“Everybody wants to win here. What we have to do is asses the weak points of our opponents and use them to our advantage. We are not in a very bad situation at the moment as we only need to work on our service, reception and blocks,” she said.
On her part, Agala revealed there are some differences in the sand texture but that does not scare them. She is also anticipating a good show at Birmingham.
“The sand here is a bit rough but volleyball is the same. It is our first time playing in the Commonwealth Games and we’re excited. We are strategizing to get out of the pool stage, then see what happens next. Teamwork is essential for us to win,” she said.
