The Kenya Shooting team will be seeking to seal Tokyo Olympic Games slots to take part in the qualifiers at the ISSF World Cup that will take place in New Delhi, India from March 18th to 28th. – By Madellene Markit.
The team of 8 shooters was flagged off on Wednesday by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) ahead of the global showpiece that will also be used to decide on the world ranking points.
Some of the events they will be participating in include the 10m Air Rifle for Men and Women, 10m Air Pistol for Men, 3 position Rifle Men and Skeet Shotgun Men.
NOC-K second Deputy President Waithaka Kioni accompanied by Ag. Secretary General, Francis Mutuku and Women Representative Paurvi Rawal handed the team the flag and kit at the Kenya Regiment Rifle Club.
Kenya Sports Shooting Federation (KSSF) Chairman Shoaib Vayani presented the team. Gulraaj Singh who is a scholarship athlete under Olympics Kenya leads a team of 8 shooters to represent Kenya in the 10-day event.
Other members of the team are Sanford Otundo, Priscilla Wangui, David Kirui, Maurice Morara, Jaspal Matharu, Dhruv Shah and Gurupreet Singh Dhanjal who will be the Team Manager.
The team selected are four members from the Kenya Police Service and four civilians.
The Kenya Sports Shooting Federation has applied for an Olympics wild card for the top shooter Gulraaj Singh, who has the best prospects to achieve the minimum qualifying score.
The team hopes to secure the minimum qualifying score in the events, to allow them improve their prospects for the Wild Card. The team has been in training camp at Kenya Regiment Rifle Club range in Langata since last month.
The table tennis team will be participating in the final trials for Tokyo 2020 in Doha, Qatar from Thursday to March 18th. The team was scheduled to fly out of the country for Qatar on Wednesday night.
Brian Mutua, a scholarship athlete under Olympics Kenya, leads a team of 4 players, two male, and two female players, to represent the country in the seven-day event.
Josiah Wandera, Doreen Juma, and Lydia Setey are also in the side that will be accompanied by coaches Anthony Ringui and Mohammed Salat and Head of Delegation James Oronge.
“It depends on how mentally and physically prepared you are, and what you can do on that table as per the coach’s instructions,” Wandera said ahead of departure.
The team has been in a non-residential camp in Nairobi for the past month and was flagged off by Olympic Kenya officials on Wednesday.
