This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
Published on December 3, 2019, Nairobi Water Queens will start their East and Central Africa Handball Club Championships title defence against unfamiliar opponents Winners Team of Rwanda on Tuesday at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.
Kenya's representatives arrived in Kigali on Sunday, with only three women teams having confirmed participation by Monday in this championship that will be played in round-robin format.
Team manager Caroline Kusa noted that the weather conditions will not be a problem, but expressed concerns about the unknown opponents. "It's also raining here so the weather conditions will not be a problem. We have not played Winners Team before so we don't know what to expect. There are faces from their (Rwanda) national team and therefore they are a force to reckon with," she said.
Caroline Kusa added that the team's intention is to retain the title, starting with a strong performance against Winners Team. "We want to start our title defence on a high before facing Rwanda University. We have played the students before and we know them very well but we will not underrate them. Our intension is to retain the title," she said.
However, uncertainty surrounds the participation of Kenya's representative Black Mamba in the men's category, with coach Martin Abunde expressing doubts about the team's ability to participate in the event. "We haven't received communication from our sponsor and I really can't tell whether we will participate in the event or not. Even if we get the go-ahead to compete in the championship, how are we supposed to make it to Rwanda on time?" he quipped.
