Girls V-ball team go top in African tourney

YesterdayRwanda 3-0 NigeriaKenya 3-1 South AfricaEgypt 3-0 Mauritius TodayEgypt vs NigeriaKenya vs MauritiusBotswana vs South Africa GABORONE - RWANDA U-18 GIRLS national team are assured of a medal after beating Nigeria to go top of the volleyball competition standings at the ongoing Africa Youth Games in Goborone. Paul Bitok’s youthful side beat Nigeria 3-0 (25-19, 25-18 and 25-18) to get closer to a gold or silver medal. Grace Niyigena and Captain Seraphine Mukantambara were the top performers as they picked 17 and 11 points respectively. Rwanda leads the standings with 13 points in five matches played, one point ahead of Egypt, who have a game in hand. Both teams face off in the last game of the round-robin competition on Friday. Nigeria is third with 9 points while Kenya is placed fourth with 8 points. Rwanda’s chances of winning a gold medal lie on securing a win over continental champions Egypt. Speaking to Times Sport after the game, Bitok said, “I am very happy for my players, who fought so hard especially in the first set when Nigeria was leading with 5-0.” “We need to beat Egypt in the final game on Friday to be able to win top spot,” added the Kenyan trainer. A medal in volleyball will follow Jean Pierre Cyiza’s bronze medal which he secured in boxing on Monday. The 18-year-old Cyiza is now ranked 3rd in the 60kg lightweight African rankings. Tennis Olive Tuyisenge and Burundian Mariam Mujawimana were bundled out of the tennis tournament after losing to Egyptian pair of Habiba Lasheen and Sandra Samir 6-0, 6-3 in yesterday’s quarter-final match. Athletics Sifa Ingabire was the first athlete to be knocked out as she failed to qualify to the final of the girls’ 800m. Meanwhile, James Sugira starts his campaign for a slot in the final when he competes in the 1500m first round today at the National Stadium. Today’s action Ange Nisingizwe starts his competition in fencing today at National Youth Centre, while Aaron Taylor Koonce continues his hunt for silverware in golf which ends today at the Gaborone Golf club. Cycling The cycling teams in both boys’ and girls’ categories are set to compete in their last event today. The boys will ride 104km road race, while girls will take part in 52km race.

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Girls V-ball team go top in African tourney