
Commonwealth Games qualifiers: Kenya's beach volleyball teams eliminated
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 28.03.22. | 13:49
The two teams play in the third-place playoff with only the champions getting a slot to the Games.
The duo of Naomi Too and Veronica Adhiambo are out of contention for the Commonwealth Games slot after losing their semi-final match to hosts Ghana.
Their male counterpart Ibrahim Oduor and James Mwaniki are also out of the men's contest after losing to South Africa in straight sets of 0-2 (19-21,12-21).
Kenya was represented by the two in the qualifiers ongoing in Ghana, with the technical bench sitting out Olympians Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Agala. The men's reserves were Nicholas Lagat and Donald Mchete.
Women's beach volleyball commonwealth qualification
— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) March 28, 2022
Semi final
FT.
Ghana 2 -1 Kenya
21 - 18
18 - 21
15 -09
The next stop for Kenya will be the 3rd place playoff.#TheGamePlan pic.twitter.com/zKOofHWuPf
After winning two of their three group-stage matches, they faced Nigeria in the quarters, picking straight sets win to set a date with the hosts.
Ghana won the first set 21-18 but the Kenyans recovered to pick the second set 18-21 and set up a decider set. The hosts proved too strong winning it 15-9 for a 2-1 victory that effectively ended Kenya's quest for a Commonwealth Games ticket.
"It was a tough match without a doubt and I am impressed by the players' fighting spirit to the last whistle. We had a good game but luck was not on our side and we are out of the qualification.
We fielded the best team and as the coach, I have no regrets, just lessons. Veronica made a splendid debut at this level and the future of Kenya's beach volleyball is indeed bright," offered the women's head coach Salome Wanjala.
The tactician has called on the federation to do more in ensuring the levels of beach volleyball in the country improve.
"In any African competition, we are up against teams that are playing in the World Tour and others that frequently play international friendly matches and that makes them better than we are.
We have begun the journey with the FIVB homologated national circuit where we are discovering new players while at the same time getting volleyballers to create interest in this version of the sport. However, more needs to be done. The future of the sport is bright, with better competitions," added coach Wanjala.











