YesterdayRwanda 2-0 Mauritius Today: FinalRwanda vs Egypt/Nigeria Rwanda national women beach volleyball team is just one win away from booking a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games slated for September 5-21 in Brazil. Coach Christopher Mudahinyuka’s team qualified for the final of the final qualifiers in Abuja, Nigeria after defeating Mauritius in a semi-final in straight sets 2-0, 2-0 on Saturday and they will face the winner between Egypt and Nigeria in today’s final. Rwanda, which has lost only one game so far in the competition that started on April 13, finished on top of Pool B after winning all their games played in a round robin format to reach the semi-finals. In their opening game, Rwanda defeated Mozambique by 2-0 before overcoming Egypt in the second match, again by the same score. In the third match, Mudahinyuka’s girls lost to Mozambique 2-0 before revenging with a 2-1 win in the fourth game. Rwanda also defeated Egypt 2-1, Morocco 2-0 and Namibia 2-1 to seal a semi-final berth. According to the beach volleyball rules and regulations, whenever a country (team) wins a game but having lost one set to their opponent, they replay the game “gold match” to determine the winner, which is why Rwanda played some teams twice. Speaking to Sunday Sport in a phone interview, Mudahinyuka revealed that; “Our target is to qualify and we have been motivated by this excellent performance, we are now looking ahead to the final, we are ready to fight and make history.” Rwanda’s two teams of four players comprise of; Rwanda Revenue Authority pair of Seraphine Mukantambara and Judith Hakizimana while Denyse Mutatsimpundu (APR) partners with Charlotte Ndayisenga (RRA). editorial@newtimes.co.rw
