Kenya volleyball to pitch camp in Tokyo ahead of World Cup

Kenya women' s volleyball team will have a one week training camp in Tokyo, Japan to polish up their skills ahead of the FIVB World Cup, which starts on Aug. 22.

The team, which has been training in Nairobi for the last three weeks, will depart for Japanese capital on Wednesday under head coach David Lung' aho.

"We will have one week of training without anyone disrupting us, and I believe, we made a statement at the FIVB World Grand Prix, when we won in our pool in Australia," Lung' aho said in Nairobi on Monday.

"Now we get a notch-up and the challenge will be harder. But we have the skills and talent to weather the storm and win again," he added.

Kenya is grouped together with host Japan in Pool A and they will be based in Tokyo. They will be joined by the Dominican Republic, Russia, Argentina and Cuba

"We will get good results. The last time we were in the World Cup in 2011, Kenya was branded as mere participants to fill the numbers, but now it is different because we are going there as competitors," said Lung' aho.

The volleyball World Cup is the climax of this year's international volleyball season and will qualify two teams to join hosts Brazil at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year. Twelve teams will play 66 matches.

Kenya will open their World Cup campaign against Cuba on August 22 before they take on Dominican Republic, Russia, Japan and Argentina. In the second round, Kenya will face off South Korea, Serbia and Peru. Endi