Egypt, Tunisia seeded top for Africa men's volleyball Olympic qualifiers

NAIROBI - Egypt and Tunisia have been seeded top for the Africa men's volleyball Olympic qualifiers, which will be held in Cairo starting in January next year.

Kenya has opted out of the competition, leaving only seven teams to battle it out. Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) president Emr Alwani said the standards of the sport have improved and the continent is likely to challenge for the medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

"Only seven countries will be participating in the CAVB Tokyo Men's Volleyball Qualification 2020 due to be hosted in Cairo. The teams have shown time and again their potential and will be strong challengers in Tokyo for the medals," said Elwani on Monday.

The participating teams include 2016 Rio African representative Egypt, 2012 qualifier Tunisia, as well as Algeria, Ghana, Niger, Botswana and Cameroon.

"The teams will be divided into two preliminary pools where the top two countries in each proceed to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals qualify to the final where the winners book the Olympic ticket," said Elwani.

The women's Olympic Games qualifiers for Africa will be held in Yaounde, Cameroon from January 3-10, 2020.

Kenya head coach Paul Bitok on Monday confirmed that dependable setter Janet Wanja will miss the qualifiers in Cameroon.

"The team will miss the services of our vastly experienced and veteran setter Janet Wanja due to personal commitments," Bitok told Xinhua on Monday in Nairobi.

Wanja has since been axed from the team training camp in Nairobi.

"We are very thankful for Wanja's services all through. Coupled with her experience, she is always very committed, smart and a natural leader. Wanja remains one of the best and experienced setters Kenya has ever had," added Bitok.

It is a double tragedy for Kenya as another setter Trizah Atuka was also sidelined last week with a knee injury.

It will now force Bitok to pick on Jane Wacu, Esther Mutinda and Joy Lusenaka, who play in a similar position, to fill Wanja's shoes for this upcoming qualifier.

"I have a lot of confidence that the players and rest of the team will put essential effort while Wanja is away. I urge Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) to register more youth and junior players for future international competitions. This will allow for smooth transition and succession of senior team players," he said.

Kenya, who have won the Africa women's volleyball title a record nine times, will face off against host Cameroon, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Botswana, Rwanda and Mauritius for the one slot reserved for Africa.