Olympic Qualifiers: Kenya see off Namibia to finish unbeaten in preliminary stage

Alice Owiti of Kenya in action against Namibia during their final Olympic Qualifiers preliminary match in Pretoria.[Africa Hockey Federation]

National women’s hockey team maintained their unbeaten run at the ongoing African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 qualifiers in South Africa after seeing off Namibia 1-0 on Wednesday in their final preliminary group stage match.

Grace Bwire scored her second goal of the tournament to lead the East African hockey queens to victory in Pretoria.

The Strathmore University Scorpions attacking midfielder scored a 53rd minute penalty corner to break the Namibian hearts after a goalless three quarters.

The win sealed Kenya’s top spot in Group B where they finished with nine points ahead of the knock out stages.

Kenya defeated Zambia 4-0, Ghana 3-2 in addition to their win against Namibia.

Ghana followed second with six points after their 2-1 win over Namibia and a commanding 7-1 win over Zambia.

Kenya will now play Nigeria from Group A in the semifinals set for Friday with an eye on getting to the finals where they stand a chance of winning a ticket to France next year.

Winners at the tournament will seal their berths to the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The team that finishes second in the men’s competition will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.

Defending champions South Africa will play Ghana in the second semifinal.

South Africa finished top of Group A with six points after their two wins in the pool which only had three teams.

The hosts defeated Nigeria 4-0 after a show of might in their statement 10-0 win over Zimbabwe during their opening match.