Egypt, Tunisia seeded tops at Tokyo qualifiers
Nairobi, Tuesday
Egypt and Tunisia have been seeded top for the Africa men’s volleyball Olympic qualifiers to be held in Cairo, Egypt next month.
Kenya opted out of the competition, leaving only seven teams to battle it out. Confederation of Africa Volleyball president Emr Alwani said the standards of the sport had improved such that the continent is ready to challenge for medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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The participating teams are 2016 African representative Egypt, 2012 qualifier Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Niger, Botswana and Cameroon.
“The teams will be divided into two preliminary pools where the top two in each proceed to the semi-finals. The winner will book the sole Olympic ticket,” said Elwani on Monday.
The women’s Olympic Games qualifiers for Africa will be held in Yaounde, Cameroon from January 3-10, 2020.
Kenya’s head coach Paul Bitok on Monday confirmed that dependable setter Janet Wanja will miss the qualifiers in Cameroon, saying: “The team will miss the services of our vastly experienced and veteran setter Janet Wanja due to personal commitments.”
“We are very thankful for Wanja’s services all through. Coupled with her experience, she is always very committed, smart and a natural leader. Wanja remains one of the best and experienced setters Kenya has ever had,” added Bitok.
-Xinhua
It is a double tragedy for Kenya as another setter Trizah Atuka was also sidelined last week with a knee injury. It will now force Bitok to pick on
Jane Wacu, Esther Mutinda and Joy Lusenaka, who play in a similar position, to fill Wanja’s shoes for this upcoming qualifier. -Xinhua
