Women’s national hockey team head coach Openda upbeat ahead of Rio Olympic qualifiers

Jos Openda coach telkom orange hockey team

Women’s national hockey team head coach Jos Openda is confident his team will excel at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations cum Rio 2016 Olympic qualifiers from October 23 at the Randburg Hockey Stadium in Johannesburg.

The Kenyan girls have a second chance to secure their ticket to the quadrennial event, having failed to earn their place through the International Hockey Federation (FIH) world league series.

The team, which is captained by Tracy Karanja, will face six other nations in a quest for the lone ticket to Brazil. Hosts South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe will all be battling to represent the continent.

Openda told FevePitch they will go for nothing less than the continental trophy and a slot in Rio.

“We have trained very well, and our main objective to snatch the bragging rights and qualify for the Olympics.” Openda added that they will not be cowed by pre-tournament favourites, who include defending champions South Africa and 2013 silver medalists Ghana. “We are on the same level with them. They have played international test matches and we are not badly off because earlier in the year, we were in Uruguay where we played tougher opponents and my girls gained experience.”

Ghana is ranked 31st in the world and second in Africa behind continent powerhouses South Africa, who are ranked 11th in the world. The games will be played in a round-robin format, where the side with most points, will be crowned champions and a berth to the Brazil games too.

In the men’s contest, Kenyans will be seeking a return to the Olympics having made their last appearance in 1988. The men’s battle has the highest entries, where nine nations will clash, compared to the 2013 event held in Kenya, where only four countries contested.

Hosts South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Kenya played in 2013, while Nigeria, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe pulled out of the championships.

The men’s team to be captained by Zack Aura is in pool B together with Egypt, who have been improving with every match. Earlier in the year, Egypt ended South Africa’s road to Rio as they won 3-2 in a shootout in world league two to proceed to the next round. In league one, Kenya lost 2-1 to Egypt and hope to avenge for that loss when the Africa Cup matches start.