Beach volleyball teams off to Ghana ahead of Commonwealth qualifiers
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Valentine Munezera, seen here playing indoor volleyball, is one of the four players in Accra, Ghana, for the African beach volleyball qualifiers for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The national beach volleyball teams have left the country, with high ambitions, ahead of the Commonwealth Games qualifiers in Ghana. The qualifiers are scheduled for March 25-28 in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

The two pairs, one in each gender category, departed Kigali at 9am aboard a Kenya Airways flight. 

Rwanda will be represented by one team – Valentine Munezero and Benitha Mukandayisenga – in the women’s qualifiers, while Venuste Gatsinze and Fils Habanzintwari will represent the country in the men’s fray.

According to head coach Christophe Mudahinyuka, both teams have been well-prepared for the continental qualifiers and winning gold medals in both categories is not an ‘overambitious’ target.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will kick off on July 28 and run through August 8 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Rwanda will be represented in the Games by 20 athletes; including in athletics, cycling, swimming and wheelchair basketball.

At least 12 countries have confirmed their participation at the beach volleyball qualifiers in Accra. They include Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Gambia, Zambia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Rwanda, Mozambique, Botswana and hosts Ghana.