Kenya women’s national volleyball team heads to the 2019 African Games in Morocco with its sights set on a fifth championship at the continental event.
The Malkia Strikers have just come from playing in the volleyball Inter-continental Olympic qualifiers in Italy, and before that, played through to the final in the Africa Women Volleyball Championship in Egypt.
“We’ve had a lot of games from the beginning of this year, and yes it’s taking a toll on us physically. But, I’m glad we have so much depth in our squad, everyone in this team is capable of doing the job, so that has allowed us to rotate as some players recover,” captain Mercy Moim told CGTN in Nairobi.
The experienced skipper declared they were ready to handle the pressure of being the team to beat at the competition.
“If you are the defending champion, there is always that pressure, and we are well aware of that. Other teams will have nothing to lose when they come up against us. So for us, we really have to be well prepared, and make sure we bring back home our title,” she added.
Kenya is in the same group with Cameroon, Senegal and Algeria. The Malkia Strikers hope to avenge a loss to Cameroon in the Africa Volleyball Championship final in July.
“I cherish to play Cameroon one more time. Being in the same group, and also being in a very tough group, gives us the motivation to fight from the first match.
“I think it’s the group of death, with four top teams in Africa, drawn in the same group. But our intention is to come out as winners, possibly playing Cameroon twice, in the group and also in the finals, because we also want to prove a point,” former coach and technical director, David Lung’aho underscored.
Report by CGTN’s Mohamed Abubakar
