Kenyan basketball rising star Jemimah Omondi, known to most in the basketball circles as ‘Mimah Queen’ has narrated how the National team call up saved her during the pandemic.
Mimah highlighted that prior to the call-up, she had hit rock bottom during the pandemic period.
The 25-year-old basketball star noted that when the pandemic began, she had just finished her undergraduate program in university and was venturing into business as she figured out her next step.
However, her business took a hit and at the same time the national basketball league was suspended.
Her reprieve came when she received her first-ever call up to the national team for the Zone Five FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers that were staged in Kigali, Rwanda.
“Personally, I hadn’t expected to be called up to the National team. I was excited and I had to sit down and think of how far I had come from and I vowed to work hard to make the final team.
“I had just finished my undergraduate and I was looking for jobs. I had started a small business that was collapsing. At that time the league was suspended and I was staying at home, I wasn't motivated as my spirits were low” Mimah stated.
She noted that being called to the national team really uplifted her spirits and motivated her to start working hard.
“The national team call pulled me out of the hole I was in. At the same time, it made me focus on training and preparations and honestly it was a good thing that happened to me,” she stated.
Through her hard training she was able to secure herself a place in the final 12 that headed to Cameroon for the Afrobasket.
This was her second time playing for the country as she had played for the under 18 national team. Her focus now is on the sport as she hopes to feature more in the national team squad call ups.
“It is an honour for me and wearing the national team jersey is the best feeling. I have to keep working hard and improving to remain in the squad,” she added.