More by this Author
The national women's volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, will renew rivalry with Cameroon at the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Africa Cup of Nations after both teams were placed in Pool 'B' during the draws conducted on Monday evening at a Cairo hotel .
Only seven teams confirmed their participation after DR Congo and Lesotho failed to beat CAVB's deadline for Monday's registration at the technical meeting where the pooling was done.
The seven are: hosts Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria, Botswana, Kenya and Morocco
The Malkia Strikers, who lost 1-3 to Cameroon in the final of the 2017 edition in Yaoundé, will open their campaign against traditional rivals Algeria on Tuesday, before taking on the vastly improved Botswana a day later.
Shaileen Ramdoo's charges will then complete their Pool 'B' games with a tie against defending champions Cameroon on Thursday.
"The pool was predictable. It was good to have Cameroon in the same pool, playing some tough games in the pool is good. We have more matches to play which suites us well. There is no weak team but it is good to be pushed early," Ramdoo told Nation Sport.
Egypt are in Pool 'A' alongside Morocco and Senegal. The top two teams from both pools will advance to the semi-finals.
"We had no preference being with Cameroon or Egypt in the same pool. We are destined to meet Egypt in the latter parts of the tournament. We have a mix of different levels of matches and this is a stepping stone for Tokyo Olympics," added Ramdoo.
