• VOLLEYBALL

• Frank Rotich 1 day ago

Kenya beach volleyball teams advance to next round of Zone V Olympic qualifiers

Kenya’s men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams have qualified for the next stage of the CAVB Continental Beach Cup and 2028 Olympic Zone Five qualifiers after impressive performances in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The five-day tournament came to an end on Monday at Sawa Sawa Beach, with both Kenyan teams finishing second behind Egypt to secure qualification for the next round.

In the men’s category, Kenya lost both final matches against a strong Egyptian side. The pair of Richard Amutalla and Anthony Chimanyi went down 2-0 to George Bakhit and Youssef Awad in sets of 21-18 and 21-13.

Naftali Chumba and Reagan Kipchirchir also suffered a straight-sets defeat against Aboesoud Eid and Youssef Abdel, losing 21-16 and 21-16.

Despite the defeats, Kenya managed to finish second overall, enough to qualify since the top two teams in each category advanced to the next phase.

In the women’s competition, Kenya sealed qualification after beating Burundi in their final matches of the tournament.

Selina Gambo and Veronica Adhiambo dominated Pamella Irakoze and Emmanuelle Ndayikengurukiye in straight sets of 21-12 and 21-8.

The other Kenyan pair of Sharleen Sembel and Sharon Jepkogei fought back to defeat Nadia Buntubwimana and Emelyne Igiraneza 2-1 after losing the first set. They won 19-21, 21-17 and 15-9.

The Kenyan women also finished second behind Egypt.

Team manager John Ogara praised the players for their determination and hard work throughout the competition.

He said the tournament was tough, but the players gave their best to achieve the positive results, adding that the team will now shift focus to the next round expected to take place in August.

Team Kenya is expected to arrive back home on Tuesday at 11:20am through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.