It was another instance of coming so close only to fall short at the very end when Malkia Strikers faced South Korea in the preliminary round of Pool A. The Strikers went down fighting but couldn't manage to get through since the Koreans took in all the 3 sets; S1 25-14, S2 25-22, S3 26-24.
The Paul Bitok-tutored team was looking to bounce back from their comprehensive loss against hosts Japan where they subsequently lost all 3 sets. The Koreans started strong in the first set managing to overpower the Kenyans especially with precise services that seemed quite uncomfortable for the Strikers. The Kenyans came back strong and did their best to put on a show by running the South Koreans close in the final set, losing 26-24.
Team captain Mercy Moim summed up the show against Korea, saying if only they can learn to have a better finishing power, then they would have won at least a set against the Asians.“I wish we can have that finishing touch in our matches. That was the reason why we could not win a set against Japan in the first match and that was also the case against Korea on Tuesday,” Moim said after the match.
Kenya's Setter, Jane Wacu said the gap between Kenya and other teams was narrowing with every match and it was only a matter of time before they could get a set from the top sides or even win a match.“Korea has always beaten us even under-10, but we have shown that we have improved and nobody knows; we might even get some sets against teams like Brazil in this competition,” she said.
Malkia Strikers will wait until Thursday to launch yet another attempt at winning their first ever Olympic match when they face 2016 silver medalists and reigning world champions Serbia in their third preliminary tie. Serbia on Tuesday leapfrogged Japan to top Pool A after beating the hosts 25-23 25-16 26-24.
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