Rwanda assistant coach Anaclet Bagirishya believes his country is prepared enough to put up an impressive show at the forthcoming 2024 CAHB African Men’s Championship scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt, from January 17-27.

The event, which is in its 26th edition, serves as a qualification event not only for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games but also for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship.

Bagirishya has been leading the national team’s training sessions during the past week as Spanish head Coach Rafael Guijosa, who is on vacation, expects to join the team in Egypt on January 10.

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Based on the team’s performance in Saturday’s 39-25 friendly win over APR, Bagirishya said that his players have managed to correct their technical mistakes and anticipates to see them do even better on their debut appearance at the continental handball championship.

"We know what is waiting for us in Egypt. We also know that we have an uphill task but we are ready for the challenge ahead. It is a tough competition for our team but we have mature players who are able to win against big teams,” Bagirishya said.

"Players are responding well in training and we have hope that we will do even better. We were impressed by the work done training in general. There is nothing to fear in terms of preparations. Players are ready to give their best and represent Rwanda well,” he added.

Rwanda will be participating in the African Handball Cup for the first time. Their journey will begin in the group stages where they are pooled in the same group as DR Congo, Zambia and Cape Verde.

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The team will depart Kigali for Egypt Monday night where they will play two buildup matches against Morocco and Congo Brazzaville on January 12 and 14 respectively.