Rwanda volleyball federation chairman, Gustave Nkurunziza has said that the junior and youth national team men have made the country famous across the country.Before the two won Bronze Medals at the first CAVB Junior (U21) and Youth (U19) Africa Championships, Rwandan volleyball was unknown beyond the region. But after the continental competitions held in Algeria and Tunisia this year, the players have become famous athletes in Rwanda simply because it was the first ever bronze medal in the history of the country.The junior women beach volleyball team clinched gold medal last year in Togo after surprising favorites South Africa in final 2-0.And now, according to Nkurunziza, Rwandan volleyball teams are slowly getting a slot among the most famous and feared on the continent, and other countries will soon begin to think twice before picking Rwanda in future competitions.“Before, all countries wanted to play against Rwanda in the first match, but for now everyone is beginning to sit back because of what we have achieved with the junior and youth teams,” he said.Nkurunziza added, “Sometimes the team regarded as underdogs tend to achieve more than those with the spotlight on them, that has been the point of our strength in these competitions.” The youth girls’ team is currently in Cairo, Egypt taking part in the Africa Youth Championships.Rwanda, handled by Kenyan trainer Paul Bitok, played three build-up matches with leading Kenyan clubs and lost all as part of their preparations for tourney. Bitok’s youthful girls played their first match against Nairobi Water lost 3-0 (22-25, 24-25, 25-16), then came up against Kenya Commercial Bank, which they lost 2-3 (25-23, 27-25, 11-25, 25-27, 12-15) before falling to Kenya Prisons “B” 3-1 (23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-25) in the third match.
