Kenya squash team will make their debut in the Africa Senior Championship starting Thursday in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
A team four of players will leave this morning for the week-long show which ends on November 11.
Coach-cum- player, James Dalidi said they are ready to showcase their talent and will be targeting the top five places. “We have done a lot of preparation since last week and we hope to finish in the top five,” said Dalidi.
The event has attracted 15 countries including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia Nigeria and Rwanda. Others are —South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar, and hosts Zimbabwe.
“Our only challenge so far is to beat Namibia, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria. Other teams will be a piece of cake,” said Dalidi. He said they used the Commonwealth Games as trials for this week’s event.
“We chose the top four from the Commonwealth Games to represent the country,” he added. They include Muqtadir Nimji, who qualified for the men’s single plate finals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and his younger brother Ilyaseen Nimji. Others are Dalidi and Bruce Jusa.
“We are only taking the men’s team because our women’s team has not been consistent in their practice. Besides, our best female players are not around,” Dalidi revealed.
He said the women’s league will kick off next week and hopefully, this will help them raise their game.
Ilyaseen, the youngest player on the team, expressed confidence that they will post good results.
“Since I’m aware the competition will be stiff, I have prepared myself efficiently and my main target is to make my team proud and represent the country well,” said Ilyaseen.
Muqtadir, who has represented the country in various international events, said he is determined to produce even better results this time.
“This is a big challenge to me since I have not played in the seniors championships before. The competition will be tight but we will also try and do our best,” Muqtadir commented.
Dalidi said it was unfortunate that squash does not receive sufficient support despite the talent available. He said they have missed lots of competitions due to a lack of financial support.
