The national beach volleyball teams (men and women) have started preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games second round qualifiers which will be held from November 4-9 in Egypt. Rwanda will be represented by four teams, two in each gender. The two men’s teams comprise, Olivier Ntagengwa paired with Patrick Kavalo as well as Flavien Ndamukunda and Pierre Marshal Kwizera. The women teams are made up of Seraphine Mukantambara and Judith Hakizimana (team A) while team B includes; Denyse Mutatsimpundu, who will play alongside Charlotte Nzayisenga. The teams are training in Rubavu and they will travel to Egypt on November 2. The women’s teams are coached by Christopher Mudahinyuka while the men are under Jean Luc Ndayikengurukiye. In this second round, Rwanda women’ teams will compete with Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt and Zimbabwe. The teams will play on a robin round basis and the top three will qualify to the last qualification round. The men will compete against Chad, Namibia, DR Congo, Angola and host Egypt also on a robin round basis and the top three teams will qualify for the last round. In 2011, the duo of Mutatsimpundu and Nzayisenga failed to qualify for the London Olympic Games after losing to Mauritius and South Africa in the continental qualifiers held in Rubavu, while team of Alex Nkuranga and Guillaume Irakarama also fell short in the men’s competition held in Morocco. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
