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THE Zimbabwe national beach volleyball team left the country on Tuesday for Egypt to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympic qualifiers. The four-member team comprising Douglas Choto, who leads the side, his partner Kudzai Sibangani and the pair of Nyashadzashe Takawira and Keith Machakaire has been preparing for the qualifiers since the end of the African Games in September.
Vengai Nyaude is the team coach, while referee Elliot Mpariwa will officiate at the tournament. Zimbabwe is in the same group with reigning African champions Angola, Chad, Egypt, Rwanda and Namibia. In the first edition of the Zone 6 qualifying matches, Zimbabwe beat Namibia and lost to Angola.
South Africa, Mozambique and DRC will battle in another group, with the top three proceeding to the next level. Nyaude bemoaned the lack of thorough preparations due to limited time and resources. “We had little time to prepare for the qualifying matches, but we have covered a lot of ground and are set for the qualifiers,” said Nyaude.
He said Angola would be tough opponents, but Zimbabwe will not be intimidated by their previous performances. “The top countries are not used to beach volleyball and we’re going to use that to our advantage by putting pressure on their players,” said Nyaude.
Online Reporter