Kenya men's and women's teams have been drawn in tricky pools for the Wheelchair World Cup qualifier in Antalya Turkey Friday.
The men's team face a stern test against Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa while the women's team will be up against Nigeria and Tanzania in Pool 'B'. Morocco and South Africa will battle it out in Pool 'A'.
Speaking from Antalya, team, captain Jane Ndenga said they are relishing the challenge and hope to qualify for the Portugal show in May.
"We had good preparations back home and arrived in Turkey early this week ostensibly to adapt to the conditions. It's quite windy and we can't wait to secure the qualification ticket,” she added.
Ndenga will compete alongside Asiya Sururu, Phoebe Masika, and Patricia Mativo while Rajab Abdalla will spearhead the challenge in the men's cadre in company of Ibrahim Matano, Itaken Timoi, John Wambua, and Caleb Odipo.
Coach Lawrence Karanja expects fierce competition to come from Morocco in the men's category. “Morocco are a strong side and will pose a threat. However, we will do everything to make sure we qualify for Portugal," said Karanja.
The women's team featured in the World Team Cup in Netherlands in 2018 while the men's team will be seeking to qualify for the first time.
Elsewhere, Kenya's top-ranked junior Angela Okutoyi lost to Sandugash Kenzhibayeva of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF junior tournament in Casablanca.
Okutoyi showed her brilliance in the first half, serving up several winners to take the lead.
The second set saw Okutoyi make several errors, which her opponent took advantage of, to level the match. She closed out the set with the third set win.
Okutoyi rued her errors in the second and third sets. "Going forward, I must reduce my error rate to give myself of winning chance.
The country's youngest Kenya Open winner is using the tournaments in North Africa as a build-up for the junior category of the French Open.
