The New Year is upon us, and coaches and athletes are optimistic and determined to do even better in 2024.
For the women’s national beach volleyball team, they have no choice but to live up to last week’s performance as they anticipate a difficult year as they attempt to make their second trip to the Olympics later this year.
Despite qualifying for both the African Games in Ghana and the African Continental Cup, both the women’s and men’s beach volleyball teams have a tough task ahead of them on their way to Paris.
Salome Wanjala and Patrick Owino, who are in charge of the women’s and men’s national teams, said they needed early preparation alongside competitive friendlies and international exposure.
“I have seen huge improvement from the girls in the past matches but we need to embark on a detailed training program to master all areas before the African Games and Confederations Cup competitions,” Wanjala said in a post-match interview. The Africa Zone Five Beach Volleyball Championships last week at the Pride Inn Beach Hotel in Mombasa.
During the Region V Games, Egypt dominated both the women’s and men’s categories. Kenyan women and men settled in second and third place, respectively.
The Mombasa event also doubled as a qualifier for the postponed 2023 All Africa Games scheduled to be held from March 8-23 in Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast in Ghana.
After the Ghana matches, Egypt, Kenya and Rwanda will begin preparing to represent Zone Five in the Confederations Cup where the winners of each gender will represent Africa at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Coach Wanjala said early preparation will be essential for her girls to be well prepared for the upcoming two events.
“We have to be prepared mentally, physically and skillfully. We have come a long way from where we started to where we are now,” the former Kenyan international said.
“My focus is to strengthen the players and work on their weaknesses. Overall, we are on the right track,” the coach added.
For coach Ueno, there is a need for major improvement and development in his team.
“We need more time to prepare for the task ahead of us so that we can perform better in the two continental competitions,” Ueno said.
In the Zone 5 matches, Kenya was represented by Olympians Gaudensia Makokha and Yvonne Wavinya in the A team while the B team featured Charlene Sembele and Mercy Imenza.
The men’s team had Jairus Bett and Elphas Makuto in the A team while the B team consisted of Brian Melly and Edward Kibet.
Meanwhile, the national return leg is scheduled to be played on January 11-12 at the Malabar Stadium in Busia. The annual Arthur Odera Championship will also be held at the same venue on January 13-14.