Oduor, Mwaniki save best for last in Olympics qualifiers

 

"It's now or never!"

Those were the words of Kenya's experienced men's beach volleyball pair of Ibrahim Oduor and James Mwaniki ahead of the second round Tokyo Olympics qualifiers which serve off on Monday here at the Atlas Amadil Beach in Agadir, Morocco.

The duo, who have been playing together since 2015, believe they will not have another shot at the Olympics as they enter the sunset years of their careers. 

The other pair features youngsters Enock Mogeni and Brian Melly.

"We have a good crop of players coming up pretty well and we might not have a chance to qualify for the next Olympics. I have played for over 10 years and in that duration, I have not done so well.

"It's regrettable that we had the chance to qualify for 2016 Olympics but we were not fielded in the final round due to financial constraints. But now that we have this opportunity, we want to prove a point.I have at most two more years to play the sport and I must achieve something ," said the soft spoken Odour. 

"Just because the women teams have been fielded in many international events and thus the exposure, doesn't mean we ride in their shadows. We are equally good but lack of exposure has been our main undoing but I believe things will change for the better," he added.

The long-serving Kenya Prisons captain was speaking upon arrival at the Atlas Amadil Beach hotel in Agadir on Sunday morning.

Oduor was part of the team that left Kenya on Friday for Rabat, Morocco via Paris. The Kenyan contingent then endured a six-hour journey by road from Rabat to Agadir.

Mwaniki echoed Oduor's sentiments saying they have been playing together for a while now and need to show progress. Mwaniki, who plays for Kenya Ports Authority, first partnered Oduor in 2015 as a replacement for the retiring Sila Makiso.

"Back in 2016, we had qualified for the final round of Olympics in Algeria but we never competed. While we have competed in some international events, some of the results have not been appealing but we are glad we have played most of these teams and this time round we have to get it right," Mwaniki told Nation Sport.

"There is pressure to do well but the fact that we have played together for over five years means we know what to do. Our focus now is to qualify for the top two slots before we figure out how the final round will pan out," he added.

Odour showered praise to the upcoming pair of Mogeni and Melly saying their future is bright in the sport. 

Kenya will compete against Botswana, Gambia, Tunisia, Congo, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Togo, Sierra Leone, Niger, Mali, Mauritius, Sudan, South Sudan, Cape Verde, Ghana, South Africa and hosts Morocco. 

Kenya qualified for the event during the zonal qualifiers that were staged in Uganda last year after finishing second behind eventual winners Tanzania. Tanzania have however pulled out of the event due to financial constraints.     BY DAILY NATION