NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 2 – The national women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers have landed in Manila, Philippines, after a 15-hour journey, ready for this week’s FIVB Challenger Trophy tournament, that will be key in lining up their preparations towards this month’s Olympic Games.
Malkia left the country early Monday morning and were in Manila, via Bangkok, late night. They had their first light session early hours of Tuesday morning.
The team is scheduled to play against Puerto Rico on Thursday, in the eight-team straight knockout tournament.
The girls have been in residential training at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani over the past three weeks and head coach Japheth Munala believes they are well prepared for the tournament.
“We have been training well for the past three weeks and everyone looks okay and ready. It is going to be a tough tournament in Philippines but I am quite hopeful we can do well. We are facing Puerto Rico, a side that we have played before, and lost 3-1. But I believe if we can correct a few things, we can take victory against them,” coach Munala told Capital Sport.
Play friendly matches in the Philippines
The team had initially planned to travel last Saturday and have at least one or two friendly matches before the game against Puerto Rico, but they will now head into the game with only hours of practice.
However, Munala hopes they can secure a few friendly matches for the team after the Challenger Cup tournament, as part of their preparation towards the Olympic Games.
If they beat Puerto Rico, Malkia will make the semis, where they will face the winner between European Golden League champions Sweden or Belgium.
“Our ambition is to give our best and ensure we leave a good performance on the court,” Munala added.
Team will benefit from Challenger Cup
His sentiments are echoed by skipper Triza Atuka who believes the team will stand to benefit a lot from the Challenger Cup, with their eyes fixed on the Olympic Games.
“It is a very good platform for us to look at ourselves as a team. We need to know where we are at and what we need to work on. Having tough matches is also good for us to step up our game. As a team we are ready. We have trained and prepared well,” Atuka said.
After the Challenger Cup, the team hopes to play at least one or two friendly matches against either clubs or countries in the Philippines, before they travel back home on Sunday night.
They will then just have a single day of rest and recovery in Nairobi when they arrive on Monday, as they are scheduled to depart for the pre-Olympic training camp in Miramas, France two days later.
