The national women’s hockey dreams of competing in next year’s Paris Olympics have been crushed after going down 1-0 to Nigeria in the Africa hockey qualifiers in Pretoria, South Africa.
The women’s team were seeking to seal a slot for their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games.
Johnson Benedicta’s goal in the third minute of the match was enough to hand Kenya their first defeat in the tournament and miss out on Sunday’s finals.
Kenya’s captain Lynne Kipsang rued missed chances as Kenya dominated possession without threatening Nigeria’s goal.
“I would like to congratulate Nigeria for their win. It was tough luck for my team and we live to fight another day. I think we had a lot of chances only that we did not convert them. I can say the early goal from Nigeria was a very big blow for us,” Kipsang said.
Kenya had a fine run in the continental showpiece with an unbeaten record in the group stages where they topped pool B after wins against Zambia, Ghana and Namibia.
Kenya will now fight for a bronze medal when they take on the loser between hosts South Africa and Ghana who clash in another semi-final tie later on Friday.
