Celebrated middle blocker Vincent ‘Gasongo’ Dusabimana on Sunday, January 22, announced his retirement from volleyball aged 37.
The veteran bid farewell to the sport he played for 18 years after helping APR to finish third in the just-concluded national volleyball league.
"I want to take this opportunity to say goodbye to volleyball and thank all my teammates. I now want to venture into coaching so I continue to contribute to the development of Rwandan volleyball,” he told Times Sport in an interview.
"I also thank the federation for recognizing what I did in volleyball during my time as a player," he added.
Dusabimana is one of four national team players who retired from international volleyball alongside Emile Karera, Flavien Ndamukunda and Lawrence Yakan Guma, after helping Rwanda to finish sixth at the 2021 African Nations Championships.
He made his topflight league debut in 2005 with defunct Umubano Blue Tigers for whom he played two seasons before joining the then National University of Rwanda (NUR) on a sports scholarship in 2007.
Going pro
Three years later, he was a key member of the national junior team that finished fourth at the 2010 African Championships in Libya. His stellar performance landed him a contract at Libyan outfit Tersana but his spell at the club was cut short following the civil war and coup that left President Muammar Gaddafi killed.
After going club-less for a few months, Dusabimana secured a deal with Algerian side Etoile Sportif de Sétif for the 2011/12 season, before signing for Al Gharafa in Qatar for the 2012/13 campaign.
However, his spell in Qatar was ruined by a knee injury.
The injury at Al Gharafa eventually forced the club to terminate Dusabimana’s contract and he had to return to Rwanda for recovery, after which he joined local side University of Kibungo (UNIK) – now-defunct, helping them to win five titles, including two championships, in a spell of four years between 2013 and 2017.
After winning it all with UNIK, he crossed to rivals Gisagara Volleyball Club and led them to another two league titles in three years.
He then moved to Rwanda Energy Group (REG) before finishing his career at APR VC after just one season.
In total; Dusabimana has won 15 trophies, including three with the national team.
He now holds a Level 1 coaching license that he earned in 2019.