Malkia Strikers skipper Mercy Moim dances on arrival at the JKIA from Yaounde, Cameroon on January 10, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 10 – National women’s volleyball team Malkia Strikers jetted back home Friday night after securing a return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years and were treated to a triumphant welcome at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Government and Kenya Volleyball Federation Officials were joined by friends, family and volleyball fans as they welcomed the queens back home having finished top of the round robin qualification tournament to punch a ticket to Tokyo for the summer games.
Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok with his family on arrival at the JKIA from Yaounde, Cameroon on January 10, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
“I am really pleased to see people coming out to welcome us today and we feel good as a team to have achieved this target. Personally I am glad because this is the fourth time I have participated in the qualifiers and we finally made it,” skipper Mercy Moim stated.
Malkia Strikers opposite hitter Sharon Chepchumba with her family on arrival at the JKIA from Yaounde, Cameroon on January 10, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
Opposite hitter Sharon Chepchumba who was one of the star players for the team in Yaounde was received by her parents and served the traditional Mursik drink with her siblings also in tow.
“I feel really happy to come back home and be met by my parents because I feel like I have made them proud. They have always supported me and it is my joy that we qualified and they are here to witness it,” she told Capital Sport.
Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok on arrival at the JKIA from Yaounde, Cameroon on January 10, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
Head coach Paul Bitok was also welcomed back home by his family and he was still joyous at the fact that he had helped the team back to the Olympics.
“When I came back from Rwanda I did not know that I would be a coach because my plan was very different. But now we are here with the team and achieved this great thing. This is something that I will always be proud of,” stated the coach.
