This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Kenya men's national hockey team head coach Meshack Senge has raised concerns about the team's preparedness for the 2020 Olympic qualifiers scheduled to take place in South Africa from August 12 to 18.
Speaking after a 3-1 win against the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Sunday at the Sheikh Union Club in Nairobi, Senge emphasized the need for further improvement before the crunch qualifiers.
"We have tried to experiment with SAI, and it has been a confidence boost for us, but we are not yet there in terms of preparations," Senge said.
The team is set to jet out on August 10 for the assignment, with their first match against Uganda on August 12, followed by a match against South Africa on August 13, and a tricky fixture against Nigeria on August 15.
Kenya is in Pool A together with Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa, while Pool B consists of Egypt, Ghana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
According to Senge, the team still needs to work on set piece executions, out letting, counter control, and managing turnovers before they can perform well in the qualifiers.
