National men's beach volleyball coach Patrick Owino is
impressed with Kennedy Mugo and Abraham Lagat's performance at the
just-concluded Homologated Beach Tour at Twiga Hotel grounds in Kwale County on Sunday.
Mugo and Lagat
qualified for the semi-finals along with Wilson Cheriot and Nimrod Kamadi.
Owino said he was happy with the way the duo coped with pressure despite facing
a tough match. “We played against tough opponents, but we were well prepared,”
Owino said.
"What worked is that they tried to contain the ball
control in the windy conditions and had good footwork. That is what worked for
them," he added.
In a show of confidence in his charges, Owino said they
understood their expectations to maximise on points before every game, which he
attests led to victories.
“Beach volleyball is different from the usual volleyball,
and you can't coach players when the game is in progress. You can only do it
before and after,” he said. Although Elisha Siret and Kevin Wanjala bowed out
in the quarters and Bethoven Okongo and Enoch Baraza exited in the Round of 12,
Owino still managed to keep two pairs alive heading into the final stages.
In the women’s cadre, Gaudencia Makokha and Phoscah Kasisi
marked their return to the tour with a commanding double win in straight sets,
brushing aside Faith Mukhongo and Judith Bor 2-0 (21-9, 21-17). They went on to
dominate their second match, where they beat Kendi Suoy and Velma Wekesa 2-0
(21-17, 21-5) to top Pool A.
Selina Sangale and Beryl Akoth were also in fine form,
thrashing Emma Wambia and Beatrice Nanyama 2-0 (21-6, 21-9) before
dispatching Achieng and Onyango 2-0
(21-14, 21-10) to seal their spot at the top of Pool B.
In a gritty comeback, Wambia and Nanyama recovered from their opening loss to outlast Achieng and Onyango 2-1 (21-16, 12-21, 13-15), while Mukhongo and Bor opened their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 (12-21, 21-18, 15-13) win over Suoy and Wekesa before falling to Gaudencia and Phoscah’s superior quality.
