This archive report was first published on 14 May 2020.
Kenya's beach volleyball teams are crossing their fingers over their fate in the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers after the FIVB extended the qualification period on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
According to the new Olympic Ranking qualification deadline, the teams now have until June 13, 2021, to participate, mirroring the previous deadline of June 14, 2020. The Olympic Ranking list will be published a day later on June 14, 2021.
The Kenyan teams failed to honour the second round qualifiers held in Gambia and Nigeria in March due to the government's ban on athletes traveling for international events due to the coronavirus outbreak.
As a result, the women's team missed out on the qualifiers held in Abuja, Nigeria, with the hosts and Zambia being the only participants. The men's team also failed to travel to Gambia, with South Sudan and Gambia qualifying for the third round.
Kenya's National Beach Volleyball Team coach Sammy Mulinge is optimistic that the teams can still participate in the qualifiers. He has requested the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) to readmit countries that missed the second round back to the qualification tournament in the spirit of fair play.
"We want a level playing ground. It's not that the teams failed to compete in the events as a matter of choice but due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore we pray that they will reconsider our plea," said Mulinge.
Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) chairman Waithaka Kioni said they are still awaiting feedback from CAVB.
