NAIROBI, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's hockey team is hopeful that their win over Asian side Sports Authority of India (SAI) will help boost their chances for winning the Africa Olympic qualifiers ticket in South Africa next month.
A 3-1 win over SAI has given coach Meshach Senge's side the impetus to believe they have the strength and endurance to withstand continental giants Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria to clinch the sole ticket for the Tokyo 2020.
Senge, however, believes with a little polish, the team will be ready for the Africa Olympic qualifiers, which will be held in Johannesburg on August 12-18.
"The international friendly against the Indians has helped expose the deficiencies in my team, which was the exact objective we wanted to establish. On the flip side, it offers the players the confidence boost required because India is a big player on the global stage. However, we must improve some areas in our preparations ahead of the qualifiers," Senge said on Tuesday in Nairobi.
Set piece executions, out letting and counter control are the areas Kenya team needs to work on in the two weeks before they depart for South Africa's capital on August 10.
"The results are positive and encouraging, but we still have to work on other areas to perform well, and we hope to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," the coach said.
Kenya is in Pool A together with neighbors Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa while Pool B has Egypt, Ghana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The top two teams will qualify for the semifinals dubbed the African Hockey Road to Tokyo 2020.
Kenya will launch their campaign against Uganda on August 12.
Kenya, which missed out to play at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, is bent on making an appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Hockey will not be part of the All-Africa Games in Morocco from August 19-31 because hosts Morocco have no hockey facilities. Africa Hockey Federation has since opted to use the Olympic qualifiers as their continental games.
