Bitok: Malkia Strikers will be no pushovers in Tokyo Olympics
Malkia Strikers coach Paul Bitok is carried shoulder high by his players after their win against Cameroon during the Olympics qualifier at Palais polyvalent des sports (Paposy) Arena in Yaoundé on January 7, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Malkia Strikers are currently in bubble training at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani under head coach Paul Bitok and his two assistants Josp Barasa and Japheth Munala
- Bitok, who was in charge when Kenya last competed in a global competition, the FIVB World Cup in Japan in 2019, is confident Malkia Strikers can better that performance in Tokyo
- Kenya participated in 2000 and 2004 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece but finished bottom of the pile on both occasions
“Watch out for this team!”
That was the message from national women volleyball team coach Paul Bitok after the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Tuesday forwarded four Brazilian coaches to help the team prepare for Tokyo Olympic Games due July 23 to August 8.
The four High Performance coaches - Luizomar de Moura, Roberto Opice Neto, Jeffesron Arosti and Marcelo Vitorino de Souza - are expected in the country on Friday.
Malkia Strikers are currently in bubble training at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani under head coach Paul Bitok and his two assistants Josp Barasa and Japheth Munala.
“It’s a big boost to the team because these are some of the top coaches in Brazil. We welcome them and we hope to learn a lot from them for the time we will be together in camp,” Bitok told Nation Sport.
Bitok, who was in charge when Kenya last competed in a global competition, the FIVB World Cup in Japan in 2019, is confident Malkia Strikers can better that performance in Tokyo.
“The team is at a good level and I believe the input of the high performance coaches will help us compete against the best teams in the world. This training will be of great benefit especially to the young players and could usher a new dawn for Kenyan volleyball,” observed Bitok.
“By choosing Kenya for this pilot project, FIVB is already making a statement that they have noticed our potential over the years. We matched some of the best teams at the World Cup and with this additional technical support, Kenya can now win a set or even a match at the Olympics. We can now start conversations of making it to the second round because it’s possible with the kind of preparations lined up for the girls,” underlined Bitok.
Kenya participated in 2000 and 2004 Olympics in Sydney, Australia and Athens, Greece but finished bottom of the pile on both occasions.
As part of the preparations for Tokyo Olympics, the Brazilian coaches will spend two weeks in Kenya to assess the physical condition of the team as well as their level of preparations.
Thereafter they will jet out for Brazil to set up a training camp where the national team will spend six weeks from May 1.
Malkia Strikers will return to the country late June for a week before joining Team Kenya at their Kurume base in July just in time for the Olympics.
