Hockey: Kenya bundled out of Paris Olympic qualifiers by lowly Nigeria

Kenya women's hockey team hopes to play in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers for the first time in history were quashed on Friday after Nigeria defeated them 1-0 in the semi-finals at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. 

Johnson Benedicta's short penalty corner in the third minute was all Nigeria needed to eliminate Kenya who will blame themselves for squandering chances to convert 11 penalty corners that came their way. 

It was sweet revenge for the West Africans who had fallen to Blades 2-1 during the 2022 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana.

Johnson Benedicta's short penalty corner in the third minute put Nigeria in the lead, as Kenya failed to take advantage of the three short corners that their opponents conceded in the first half.

On resumption, Kenya once again dominated the proceedings enjoying a 67 percent possession against Nigeria's 33. 

Kenya captain Lynne Kipsang said the going got tough when they conceded an early goal.

"It's sad we conceded an early goal and that denied us a chance to proceed to the final. Our opponents' early goal took a toll on us as tension built up but we live to fight another day. We lost  many chances that could have made the difference. We congratulate Nigeria for the win," said Kipsang.

Nigeria's Esther Njoku, who was named best player, said they wanted the win more than their opponents.

"This is huge. We have been losing to Kenya in the previous encounters and it's a good revenge. We are happy we will play in the final," said Njoku.

Prior to the semi-finals, the East Africans topped Pool "B" with nine points unbeaten to set up a semi-final with Nigeria who had finished second in Pool "A" with three points from two matches behind leaders South Africa.

Nigeria will now play the winner between South Africa and Ghana in the final on Sunday.

South Africa were scheduled to play Ghana in the second semi-final at the same venue at 6pm EAT.

Meanwhile, Kenya men's hockey team, who had failed to make it out of their group, defeated Zimbabwe 2-1 on Thursday night in classification matches for position 5 to 8 and will now play Nigeria in the fifth place final. Nigeria defeated Zambia 5-1 on Thursday.

The men and women’s teams that win the tournament will seal their berths at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The team that finishes as the runners-up will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.