Olympic Qualifier: Nigeria Defeat Kenya To Keep Hope Alive

Olympic Qualifier: Nigeria Defeat Kenya To Keep Hope Alive By Niyi Busari Nigeria beat Kenya 2-1 (21-13, 19-21, 15-13) in the golden match to record their first win in the men’s category of the Tokyo Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualifiers in Morocco. Nigeria Team A (Obayemi Ogunshina and Hilary Simon) lost to Kenya Team B 0-2 (15-21, 13-21) in the first encounter before Nigeria Team B consisting of Emenike Ezike and Emmanuel Chidebere defeated Kenya Team A (21-16, 21-16) in the second encounter. The head coach of Nigeria beach volleyball team, Francis Imoudu commended the players for putting all their effort against Kenya. Imoudu stated that Kenya gave Nigeria a good fight but the better side won the game. He said, “This win is an indication that the men’s team is ready for their remaining opponents. I must commend the fighting spirit of the team because bookmakers had given the game to the Kenyans but we shocked Africa. “Kenya is a good side but Nigeria did not show them any respect on the court. We will take each game as they come and all we need is the support of Nigerians home and abroad for these boys to succeed”. Reacting to the victory, the Chairman Caretaker Committee of Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engineer Musa Nimrod lauded the players for recording their first win of the beach volleyball Olympic qualifiers. He said the Federation will continue to support the team adding that the players should show no respect to their remaining opponents in the qualifiers.