Rwandan duo of Charlotte Nzayisenga and Denise Mutatsimpundu pose for a photo with their Seychelles counterparts before the semi-final match. The duo will represent Rwanda at next year’s Commonwealth Games
Rwandan National Beach Volleyball team defied odds as they edged African powerhouses to win gold and snatch a ticket to next year’s Commonwealth Games which will be held in Gold coast, Queensland, Australia between 4 and 15 April 2018.
Rwanda secured the African ticket as the winning duo of Charlotte Nzayisenga (Rwanda Revenue Authority) and Denise Mutatsimpundu (APR Volleyball Club) walloped 2015 gold medalists Nigeria 2-0 in the finals of the female category.
En-route to the finals, Rwanda defeated Mauritius 2-0, Seychelles 2-0 and hosts Sierra Leone to book a semi-final slot against Seychelles again while Nigeria took on Mauritius in the other last four encounter.
Rwanda won easily their semi-final bout, edging Seychelles 2-0 to storm the finals while Nigeria defeated Mauritius 2-0.
Charlotte Nzayisenga and Denise Mutatsimpundu celebrate the African title in Sierra Leone. They will represent Rwanda at next year’s Commonwealth Games
Rwanda women team alongside the Sierra Leone’s men’s side will be Africa’s sole representatives at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games due in April 2018.
In a related development, Rwanda finished a distant sixth place in the 2017 Men’s African Nations Championship after losing to Morocco in an amazing five setter 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-25, 10-15) in the ranking match at Cairo Stadium Complex in Egypt on Sunday.
Morocco started the match with great control in reception and arranged their combinations to win the first set, before Rwanda recovered later to win two consecutive set and lead 2-1.
Again, the Rwandan players committed several mistakes in defence and attacks to allow Rwanda to return and win the fourth set to draw 2-2. In the tiebreak, Morocco showed stable performance to win the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
Tunisia captured the 2017 Men’s African nations Championship’s title after they took on Egypt in the final 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) at Cairo Stadium Complex in Egypt on Sunday.
After a week-long tournament, Tunisia set the record of number of trophies by clinching the 9th title and the first since 2003. Egypt failed to continue the victory run after 6 consecutive titles.
Cameroon clinched the third African ticket at the 2018 World Championship after they captured the Bronze medal.
Cameroon beat Algeria 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 27-25) in the third place match after a thrilling encounter that made the spectators on their toes for about two hours.
Algeria dominated the first set to lead 1-0 using their combinations led by the setter Amir Kerboua, but later Cameroon rebounded to win three consecutive sets and capture the bronze medal.
