Oduor confident of good show in the fight for Commonwealth Games slot

The duo of Ibrahim Oduor and James Mwaniki who are fighting for a beach volleyball ticket to the Commonwealth Games set for July in Birmingham are looking to qualify for the semis as day two of the qualifiers gets underway. 

Despite being dealt a blow after Mwaniki aggravated a shoulder injury in their opening match against highly rated Gambia, the two believe they have what it takes to go all the way to win the sole ticket to the Games. 

Beach teams on course in Commonwealth Games campaign

They lost the opening match 2-1 to Gambia before picking a straight sets win over Zambia.

On Sunday, they face off with South Africa in the final group stage match set for 12 pm EAT before playing the quarters later in the afternoon. 

"These are very competitive match-ups and tough matches. The first day was impressive as we had to play with Mwaniki injured from the second set of the Gambia match. 

As such, we had to change our game plan mid match but it worked. Our services and reception were good and before the injury, we had found a their weakness and capitalised on it to win a set," offered Oduor after the first day of action. 

Heading to the final group match against South African, Oduor is hopeful their change in tactics to accommodate Mwaniki's shoulder problems will work and carry them all the way to qualifying for the Games. 

"We have been in this situation before when Mwaniki injured his shoulder during the national third leg held in Mombasa and we managed to win the leg. However, the level of competition here is different but we will not give up easily. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of a second pair so all the pressure is on us. 

For the Sunday matches, we last played South Africa in 2015 and they won 2-1. The pairs have, however, changed and the match will definitely be different. They are an experienced side, having played in the FIVB tours and we have our work cut out. We will, however, fight to the last whistle," added Oduor. 

The women's team of Naomi Too and partner Veronica Adhiambo face Mauritius at 2pm EAT in the last group match before heading to the quarters. A win against the Islanders puts them at the helm of their pool.