Kenyan men go down to Egypt in Paris Olympic qualifiers

Titus Kipyegon of Kenya (right) in action against Egypt. [[South African Hockey Association]

Kenya national men’s hockey team on Sunday begun their hunt for the ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympic on the back foot after losing their opening match to Egypt 2-0 at the ongoing Africa Road to Paris qualifiers in South Africa.

While their women counterparts begun the race with a thrilling 4-0 win over Zambia, the men struggled to sound the back board.

Kenya are in Group B alongside Egypt, Ghana, and Zambia. Group A comprises Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Kenya have not had a good show at all against the Pharaohs after losing 5-1, 7-2, 4-1, 4-1, 2-1 and 3-2 in their last six meetings since 2013. This is their seventh consecutive defeat to Egypt.

The South African men’s team have been the consecutive winners of the seven previous African Hockey Olympic Qualifiers and come into the tournament as the highest ranked team, placed 14th in the world.

Egypt, who were the last men’s team outside of South Africa to qualify for the Olympics, back in 1992, are the second highest ranked African team in the world, coming in at world rank 20th.