Kenya renew rivalry with Nigeria in Paris Olympic qualifiers semis

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

National women’s hockey team will be seeking to maintain their fine form at the ongoing African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 qualifiers in South Africa when they face Nigeria in the semifinals on Friday from 1.30pm.

A win for Kenya will get them to the finals where they stand a chance of winning a ticket to France next year.

The East Africans will be banking on their impressive head to head record to propel them to victory against Nigeria.

In their last five matches, Kenya has picked three wins and a draw with their only defeat coming in 2015 during the African Hockey Championships where Nigeria won 3-1.

The last time the tow side played was last year in January during the Africa Cup of Nations where Kenya won 2-1.

On Wednesday, Kenya finished their preliminary group stage matches unbeaten after seeing off Namibia 1-0.

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.

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.