L. MathekaModest targets as beach duo leave for Rome
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 08.06.22. | 11:02
The top two teams in each pool and the best four third-placed pairs will advance to the elimination rounds.
For the second time ever, Kenya will participate in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships.
The duo of Gaudencia Makokha and Bracksides Agala left the country early Wednesday 8 June morning for Rome, Italy where the 13th edition of the Championships will be played at the Foro Italico.
The duo is accompanied by coach Patrick Owino and beach volleyball commission chair Moses Mbuthia. Kenya landed pool L that has a pair from the host country, Italy, Poland and Germany.
The Kenyan beach queens are ranked 130th globally and first in Africa. Coach Sammy Mulinge who led the duo in their Olympics debut in Tokyo last year says the target for this championship is to have the players gain exposure and play against tougher team so as to get better.
“We are happy to have the chance to feature at this level of competition again. We did not have much time to prepare but the duo’s experience comes in handy in such a scenario. Makokha was in the last World Championship edition alongside Naomi Too so she knows what to expect.
This chance plays into our strategic plan as a commission. Beach volleyball is gaining traction in the country and we are working on a plan to build three pairs that can participate at the world stage whenever called upon. This pair’s experience in Rome will help lift the level of competition locally,” offered Mulinge.
Having not won any match or set at the Olympics, Mulinge believes that such an achievement will be a welcome improvement.
“These championships award a high number of points for matches played and even more for wins. This will see our pairs move up the rankings and get more opportunities,” Mulinge adds.
At the end of the pool phase, the top two teams in each pool and the best four third-placed pairs will advance to the elimination rounds.
The remaining eight teams that rank third in their pools will play a four-match lucky-loser round to complete the 32 teams in the knockout bracket. The entire tournament will feature 216 matches across 10 days of competition
