Bitok eyes podium finish in Maputo

THE men’s national volleyball team coach Paul Bitok is eyeing a podium finish at Africa’s biggest showpiece-the All Africa Games due September 3-18 in Maputo, Mozambique. With good preparation, he believes the team has the aptitude to make it to the medal brackets in Maputo. “We trained for three weeks ahead of the Zone V (Nations qualifiers) and we won so that means that if we prepare well, we can put up a good show in Maputo,” said the decorated Bitok. Bitok humiliated his own countrymen-the Kenyan team, when he ousted them from the East African helm in a one-sided game at Amahoro Indoor stadium last month. Kenya finished in third position at the last edition of the African games in Algiers, Algeria so Rwanda’s qualification means a lot for the former international player who plied his trade in Croatia till 2004 when he returned to Kenya. The game’s federation vice president Philbert Mutwarasibo said that, “We are planning to at least have the national team train for about three months before they go to Maputo.” As one of the most decorated volleyball players in the region, Bitok thinks the same emphasis can be put on the women’s team as the junior side is currently doing well. Ends

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Bitok eyes podium finish in Maputo