This archive report was first published on 18 July 2021.
The Olympic journey for Team Kenya athletes is set to begin on Monday, July 19, as the first batch of athletes departs from Kurume City for Tokyo, Japan.
According to sources, the national women's volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, will be the first to leave Kurume early Monday morning (Japan time) for Tokyo, where they will undergo the necessary COVID-19 protocols before being admitted into the Olympics village.
As part of the preparations, the teams will arrive in Tokyo in a staggered rhythm to ease off COVID protocols.
On Sunday, July 18, Sports CS Amina Mohamed addressed the team via Video Call from Nairobi, wishing them all the best as they head to Tokyo.
"I have heard that you have all been very comfortable in Kurume and I want to thank the people for all their kindness and hospitality. Now go to Tokyo and make the country proud. We are all behind you and will offer the support you need," said the CS.
Meanwhile, Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok expressed gratitude to NOC-K and the Ministry of Sports for giving them the opportunity to train in Kurume.
"We have had the best of facilities and we have been treated very well by our hosts. The only thing we missed were some friendly matches, but we understand it is because of the circumstances we are in right now," Bitok said.
However, the coach believes that the team is ready to tackle the Championship as they head to Tokyo.
"We have done enough training and we have done our research on our opponents; we have watched previous video of Japan playing and we have seen their weakness and their strength. Our performance against Japan will be good, we will not disappoint," said skipper Mercy Moim.
At the same time, the men's sevens team, Shujaa, will be the second team to leave Kurume on Tuesday, with their female counterparts leaving on Thursday.
"Training has been very good and it has been a productive week for us. We started slow because the boys had to acclimatize and now we are ready to go," said Shujaa coach Innocent Simiyu.
