Egypt’s men’s team and Rwanda’s women’s team took home the Gold medals today at the 2015 ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships. Both teams have thereby qualified for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
While the Rwandan men put up a good fight in the final, Egypt continued on the path they had for the whole tournament, winning in three sets 25-11, 25-23, 25-12. The strong Egyptian team did not drop a set all tournament.
The women’s final was a different story, with not much separating the two teams. Rwanda came from being behind two sets to one, eventually winning the gold in five sets 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 15-13. Understandably the team was ecstatic after their win, having qualified for the Paralympic Games for the first time.
In the Rwanda New Times, Team Rwanda Captain Lillian Mukobwankabo hailed her side for the comeback which helped them to win the game,saying “We are happy for this ticket. It is a pleasure for the country, for us and supporters because we have been working for this. The match was very tough for us but we managed to retain our winning spirit. This is amazing.”
Congratulations to both teams on qualifying for Rio 2016!
Final Tournament Standings:
Men:
- Egypt
- Rwanda
- Algeria
- Kenya
- Burundi
- DR Congo
Women:
- Rwanda
- Egypt
- Kenya
- DR Congo
- Burundi
- Uganda