Amos Abuga @PeopleSport11
National hockey teams continued to intensify their preparations ahead of competing in the qualifying tournament for next year’s Tokyo Olympics scheduled for August in South Africa.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers will be staged at the University of Northwest Potchefstroom from August 12-18, giving way to the All African Games, slated for October 14-21 in Morocco.
According the Africa Hockey Federation (AHF), the sport will not be part of the continental games as Morocco does not have hockey facilities. That means that the continental championships in South Africa will double up as qualifiers for Tokyo Olympics.
Kenya hope to beat favourites South Africa and Egypt if they are to stand a chance in returning to the Olympics after over a decade absence.
Moses Kagochi, the assistant team manager men’s team is hopeful Kenya is training well and will be ready for the qualifiers.
‘There is only a single slot reserved for the continent. Of course top teams like South Africa and Egypt who have dominated the African scene will be the obvious teams to watch,” said Kagochi
“For Kenya to stand a chance against the big boys, there is need to compete at the highest level because constant exposure is likely to play key,” he added.
Qualifying for the 2018 Youth Olympics held in Argentina was a forward step for the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) something Kagochi says should be a motivating factor.
“We shall be keen to seen most of the youth players graduating to the senior team that way we can guarantee of continuity and growth of the game in the country,” he said. Kagochi is confident the easiest route to make the trip to Tokyo will be through the African Games.
