The Malkia Strikers are determined to win their first set at the Olympic Games.
Unlike Kenya, which returned to the Games in Tokyo 2020 after a 16-year absence and failed to shine, Poland has returned to the event in style as favourites since competing in Beijing 2008.
The record African champions, rated 20th globally, have yet to win a single set in their Olympic history.
The fourth-placed European team recovered from behind to defeat Japan 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26) in their first match on Sunday, while Malkia Strikers lost 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-12) to heavyweights Brazil on Monday.
With eight players making their debuts at the Games, head coach Japheth Munala remains confident that the team has what it takes to pose problems for Poland. “The Brazil game is now behind us, and our attention is on Poland. We are going to sit together as a technical bench and look at how Poland played in their previous VNL games as well as Sunday’s match, then train on what we saw in the films and counter them,” Munala stated.
“We made some unforced errors against Brazil, which we must correct before our second encounter. We must also practice reacting on the court. Of course, Poland is one of the top teams in this championship, but we feel no pressure.”
“If we can receive well like we did against Brazil then make our net and back defence work, there is a possibility of getting a set in the remaining two matches,” the coach said.
Kenya assistant captain Edith Wisa is encouraged by their performance against Brazil ahead of tonight’s match.
“We learned some valuable lessons in our first match and are looking forward to a great performance against Poland. We’ve made significant progress in our receive; all we need to do now is concentrate on our offense and defense,” Wisa remarked.
Pamela Adhiambo and Esther Mutinda, two of the team’s new faces, are determined to prove their doubters wrong.
“Based on our performance against Brazil, we have high hopes for better results against Poland and Japan.” Certainly, there will be negativity around that loss to Brazil, but as players, we know the positives to take away from that game,” said Adhiambo, Kenya’s leading scorer with seven points against Brazil.
Reported by Meshack Awino
