KAMPALA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's junior volleyball teams have both qualified for the 2018 Africa Youth Games slated for July 17-27 in Algiers, Algeria.
In the Zone 5 qualifiers that climaxed in Kampala on Saturday night, the two Egyptian teams won all their games to come out top to earn direct qualifications for the Games.
Egypt's U-17 girls volleyball team started the campaign with a 25-12, 25-13, 25-15 win over hosts Uganda, before they defeated Kenya on Saturday 25-17, 25-15, 25-23 at the Lugogo Arena. Kenya's team outsmarted Uganda 3-1 (25-19, 26-16, 24-26, 25-21)
The Egyptian boys' U-18 team also made sure they qualified after defeating Uganda 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 and seeing off Kenya 25-11, 25-11, 25-17. Kenya's team had to be at their best to overcome Uganda 3-2 (17-25, 13-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-15).
"It has been a disappointing qualifier for us because we lost all the games. But we shall not give up, but keep developing this young team," said Uganda's boy's coach Raffi Bachu.
Hadija Namanda, Chairperson of the Uganda Volleyball Federation (UVF) told Xinhua that they are happy to have hosted such a successful qualifier.
"Although Uganda did not win, we are happy that Zone 5 will be represented by the best teams," added Namanda.
The African Youth Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years to complement the current All-Africa Games. The first games were hosted by Rabat, Morocco.
This international sportive event has been created by Lassana Palenfo, current director of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa. The idea came in 2006, but the very first African Youth Games only occurred in 2010.
