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Kenya kicked off their Zonal Olympic Beach Volleyball men qualifiers with impressive victories over Sudan at the Lido Beach in Entebbe, Uganda on Thursday.
Kenya is being represented in the event by the pair of Brian Melly and Cornelius Kiplagat and that of Ibrahim Oduor and James Mwaniki.
The pair of Melly and Kiplagat won against Muzami Ateya and Mohammed Hamad 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 17-15), while the experienced duo of Oduor and Mwaniki swept aside Nagi Osman and Badr Momen 2-0 (21-15, 22-20) in the other match.
Kenya will now parade against Tanzania on Friday in their second match of the four-day event that has attracted four teams including hosts Uganda,Sudan and Tanzania.
Teams coach Sammy Mulinge took note of the performance of Melly and Kiplagat.
Melly is making a debut in the sport, while Kiplagat last participated in the event during the 2015 qualifiers in Mozambique.
The pair features for Kenya Volleyball Federation national league champions General Service Unit (GSU).
“The pair of Kiplagat and Melly are adapting to the sport's technic and tactics. They have a lot to do as far as mental strength is concerned so as to measure up to the pair of Oduor and Mwaniki,” said Mulinge, who was recently appointed as one of the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) beach instructors.
“The Sudan pair of Ateya and Hamad are good with massive experience and the fact that the GSU players won against them shows they have something to offer. We need to be disciplined in the subsequent matches to harvest maximum points at this level in order to boost our chances of qualifying for the next round and better seeding.”
Kiplagat said the match was good and hoped for better results as the event gathers momentum.
“There is a lot of wind down here but so far so good,” said the hard-hitting player.
The top two teams will proceed to the next round. Only one team will qualify for the Olympics at the end of the African qualifiers.
The women’s qualifiers are set for January 9-20 in Tanzania.
