NAIROBI, Kenya, September 30 – The national kabaddi team bagged bronze at the men’s Beach World Cup in Iran, bringing the curtains down to a fairytale run at the global championships.
In a statement, the Kenya Kabaddi Union (KKU) said the achievement is a huge milestone to the development of the sport in the country.
“Although we didn’t achieve exactly what we came for, this bronze medal is a pleasant and proud achievement for all of us. inishing as the 3rd best team in the world is a very big milestone for us as a family, and it means so much to our team and country at large,” the federation said.
The team had outmuscled their way into the semis of the tournament, where they went down 30-49 to the hosts in a tightly contested tie.
Kenya began their campaign with a 66-14 win over Palestine in Pool B before suffering 45-32 loss to Pakistan in their next fixture.
Following subsequent wins against Lebanon and Germany, Kenya advanced to the semis after finishing second in their pool.
The federation said the bronze medal lays the foundation for greater wins in the future.
“We are bringing this bronze medal home with great pride and renewed hope for future championships, where we aim for even greater success, including gold medals,” they said.
Their departure for Iran had been an acrimonious one in which the players camped at Talanta Plaza – the headquarters for the Ministry of Sports – demanding that they be funded with air tickets as had been promised.
The team then arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on September 20, ready to travel, but were left stranded for a while as the ministry had not yet furnished them with air tickets.
In a statement, Sports principal secretary Peter Tum said the federation officials had not provided correct information on their expected date of travel and the duration of the competition.
The PS had also said that the federation were unable to provide the manual for the championships.
