Deaflympics: Kenya handball team dare to dream

Florence Sanyisa

Florence Sanyisa shoots at goal during the national women's Deaf handball team training at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on April 20, 2022.

Photo credit: Pool | Team Kenya

What you need to know:

  • The match, which will mark the start of the women’s handball contest at the delayed championships will take place at UCS Sede – Multi sport gym from 12pm Brazilian time (8pm in Kenya)
  • The national women’s Deaf handball team will be hoping for a bright start against Turkey, as they look to shake off the underdogs tag
  • After their clash with Turkey, Kenya will rest for one day before taking on champions Denmark at the same venue on May 3

Kenya will Monday start her medal hunt at the 24th Summer Deaflympics in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil when the national women’s Deaf handball team squares it out with Turkey.

The match, which will mark the start of the women’s handball contest at the delayed championships will take place at UCS Sede – Multi sport gym from 12pm Brazilian time (8pm in Kenya).

Other participants in the women’s category, which is to be played in a round robin format are: hosts Brazil, champions Denmark and Argentina.

Men's handball, women's football, athletics (men and women), basketball (men and women) and golfers (three men) are the other Kenyan sides taking part in the Games.

The national women’s Deaf handball team will be hoping for a bright start against Turkey, as they look to shake off the underdogs tag.

Coach Peter Mwathi's side are minnows in the competition owing to the fact that this is their first ever appearance in Games, while none of his charges have ever plied their trade outside the country.

Also, Kenya does not have a running, women’s deaf handball league, unlike their competitors in Brazil.

But the home players are optimistic of a good display in Brazil after a four-week, intense training they had while in camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

In an earlier press briefing after the team's training in Nairobi, Coach Mwathi said he was impressed with the girls’ progress in training.
He singled out ball-handling techniques to be one of areas they have tremendous improvement on ahead of the championships that start on Monday.

“The girls are understanding well what they should be doing. We started with build-up fitness and they responded really well. Their ball-handling technique is really good, actually I never expected them to pick up that fast. When you have good ball handling, then dealing with other technical things like movements is very easy,” said Mwathi.

Having guided the men's national team at various international assignments, Mwathi said he is preparing the girls for the duel in Brazil by sharing with them the rigours of an international match.

“None of these girls have ever played an international match but the good thing is that being a coach, I have dealt with strong teams outside there. What I am trying to do now is to bring into their minds an international match," he added.

Team captain Timinah Barasa has set a lofty target of a gold medal in the competition.

“I have the confidence that we will do a good job and bring the gold medal home. The coach has been training us, so as we go into the competition, we will have the equal skills required to get the medals,” she said.

After their clash with Turkey, Kenya will rest for one day before taking on champions Denmark at the same venue on May 3. Their third match will be against Brazil on May 6, before they take on Argentina on May 8 in their last match.

With the matches being played in a round-robin format, Kenya only needs to win two matches to be in the medal bracket.

Kenya finished ninth at the 2017 Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey with 16 medals (five gold, five silver and six bronze).