Rwanda's pair of Olivier Ntagengwa and Vincent Ruhumuliza won bronze after seeing off tight competition at the 9th edition of Castle International beach volleyball Open in Entebbe, Uganda over the weekend.
Rwanda’s pair of Olivier Ntagengwa and Vincent Ruhumuliza won bronze after seeing off tight competition at the 9th edition of Castle International beach volleyball Open in Entebbe, Uganda over the weekend.
Playing together for the first time, Ntagengwa and Ruhumuliza qualified for the quarter-finals from a tough group at the preliminary stages.
The Rwandan duo saw off Kenya’s Bernard Musumba/Evans Bera 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) in the last eight to qualify for the semi-finals but were beaten by Uganda’s Dickens Otim/Ambrose Okello to eliminate the Rwandans 2-1 (17-21, 21-14, 15-12).
In the third place playoff, Ntagengwa/Ruhumuliza defeated Ugandans Emmanuel Rugaba/Amon Ainebyona 2-1 (21-14, 15-21, 15-10) to clinch bronze at the regional tournament that attracted 23 teams from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
"This is a good step in the right direction because it was the first time I was playing with Magengwa. The tournament showed us where we are in terms of beach volleyball against other players from the region,” said a contented Ruhumuliza.
In the women’s category, Seraphine Mukantambara/Charlotte Nzayisenga lost to Uganda’s Shilla Buyungo/Eunice Amuron 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) in the round of eight.
Uganda’s Emma Kato/Nicholas Dheyongera thrashed Otim/Okello in the final 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) to win gold while country-mates Peace Busingye/Christine Alupo defeated Hafsa Nakalema/Mercy Tabitha 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) to bag gold in the all Ugandan women’s final.