NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30 – The Kenyan beach volleyball duo of Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcedes Agala will be looking for a perfect debut at the Commonwealth Games when they get their campaign up and running on Saturday night.
The duo will serve off their hunt against the New Zealand pair of Alice Zeimann and Shaunna Polley and they say they are ready for the challenge.
“This is our first time at the Commonwealth Games but it doesn’t mean that we are here to lose. We have come to win. We know it will be tough but we are ready to do our best,” the experienced Agala said as the girls settled down in Birmingham.
She added; “The preparations have been good and I think it is the first time we have trained for a long time compared to other events. We now just have to remain physically and mentally motivated for the challenge.”
“The soil here is a bit different from what we trained on but volleyball is the same. It is all about telling your mind that any surface you play on, the ball in the air remains the same,” she added.
The Kenyan women are in Pool A alongside New Zealand, fellow African side Ghana and Canada.
Agala says they target to finish in the top two and qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.
“Our first target is to get out of the group stages and that means a top two finish. When we get to the quarter finals, then it is anybody’s game. Beach volleyball is mostly about teamwork and discipline and the hunger to win, and that is what we hope will propel us,” she added.
The Kenyan pair will hope to use experience from the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year where despite losing all their matches on debut, picked up immeasurable lessons
