NAIROBI, Kenya, March 31 – National wrestling team coach Linus Masheti believes the Kenya National Beach Games is creating awareness about the sport and sparking interest at the grassroot.
Masheti said the games are offering an opportunity for people to understand more about amateur wrestling and distinguish it from the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that they have grown up watching.
“It is a huge lift because many people are used to watching pro wrestling on TV and confuse it with this one. Many have only heard of it but never seen it in real life. So, these beach games are providing an opportunity to take this sport to the grassroots and enlighten people on what it is all about,” Masheti said.
The coach described the beach games as the epitome of bottom up transformation, noting that many young people from the local communities in which these events are held can discover their talents.
“When we talk about bottom up, this is exactly what we mean by transforming the lives of the young people. Through these games, many of the locals are getting to know more about wrestling, not as a sport where people hurt one another rather as an enjoyable activity that can take you places,” he said.
Wrestling was one of the star attractions at the second edition of the beach games at Buntwani Water Park in Malindi where tens of competitors of different ages partook to outmuscle each other.
Masheti spoke of the importance of blooding in competitors as young as 10 into the sport as part of their long-term plan to make Kenya a powerhouse.
“The importance of putting them into the ring is because we are trying to grow this sport from the grassroot. Countries that have done better than us do so because of their investments in talent at a young age…we can do the same if we start nurturing these young ones so that when they come of age they will be a force to reckon with,” the coach said.
In the short-term, Masheti’s focus is on June’s Africa Beach Games in Senegal, which he considers as a stopover in their march to the Paris Olympics.
In the luggage for the journey, the coach has not forgotten crucial lessons from the African Games in Accra where they missed out on a medal.
“We were so hopeful going into Accra even though we did not have much time for preparation. It was a lesson for us to always start early preparations for competitions of such magnitude. Regardless, we gave our best and from my assessment, our experience of playing in such tournaments continues to grow. The goal is to now build on this experience and with time, I know we will be ripe for the Olympics,” he said.
In yesterday’s matches, Calvin Nyatuka beat Stephen Mugarisa 2-1 in the men’s 60kg+ category as Isaac Juma beat Alex Mejja 2-1 in the juniors 50kg+ category.
In the women’s 50kg category, Janet Ingwesi beat Joy Lichuma 2-1 whereas Collins Baraza beat Uganda’s Rodgers Mukedya 4-1 in the men’s 70kg+ category.
James Omwenge beat Brian Oloo 3-2 in the men’s under 80kg to take top honours as John Omondi beat Mark Ongwesi 2-1 in the men’s 80kg+.
