RIO DREAMS UP IN SMOKE

Kenya’s poor preparations for the continental hockey Olympic qualifiers was evident as the national women’s team went down 12-0 to hosts South Africa at the Randburg Hockey Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday. The loss may have marked the end of Kenya’s journey to next year’s Rio Games and the beginning of another long wait to garner points in their round-robin format of play to qualify.

The Kenya Hockey Union failed to adequately prepare and the union's league was not also adding value or helping players to up their game due to inconsistency. Kenya (37) had registered three consecutive wins against Namibia (not seeded), Zimbabwe (55) and Tanzania (46) all ranked below them in the world, but could not stand up against continental champions and world number 11 South Africa.