Kenya's women team eyes early preps ahead of volleyball worlds in Japan

NAIROBI, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan women's volleyball team head coach David Lung'aho wants the government to provide funds for foreign training camp ahead of the World Championships in Japan in Sept.

Kenya team has fronted a budget worth 2.5 million U.S. dollars for the trip and training camp in Tokyo, Japan prior to the start of the event, scheduled for Tokyo from Sept. 29 to Oct 20 next year.

"The secret of winning is good preparations. We want early preparation and focus on improving areas we are weak in. The caliber of competition will be high and we must work hard to get our best form," Lung'aho said in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Kenya lost out to host Cameroon in the Africa Nations Cup in Yaounde in September, but Lung'aho said their qualification was secured. Africa will be represented by three teams at the World Championships, Cameroon, Kenya and Egypt.

"We did not win in Cameroon but I believe we can turn it around through adequate support. Last time we had a hard time preparing but we hope not to see a repeat of the same," said Lung'aho.

Kenya has been at the World Championships on six occasions and are yet to get through to the quarterfinal stage of the competition.

Next year, Kenya has been pooled in a tough Group D that also includes Serbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan. Enditem