The South African Para Volleyball Team commenced their participation in the 2025 Paravolley African Sitting Volleyball Championship in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, under an unfortunate cloud, suffering a comprehensive defeat by a scoreline of 3-0 against both Egypt and Morocco.
Under the astute guidance of Coach Phungo Tshirangwana, the team embarked on their official journey to Kenya with a sense of quiet determination, following a successful preparatory camp held in Limpopo the previous week.
This week-long competition witnessed the South African team endure a disheartening loss in their opening group match, succumbing 3-0 to Egypt, who are currently ranked first on the African continent and second globally, on July 3.
This setback was compounded by another 3-0 rout at the hands of Morocco on July 6.
Despite these two defeats against their Arab counterparts, Coach Tshirangwana expressed his contentment with the team’s efforts, stating: “We executed everything we aimed to achieve on the field; it’s simply that we were outmatched by our opponents, particularly Egypt, who are presently at the pinnacle of their game, holding the top rankings in both Africa and the world.”
With their final group match against the host nation, Kenya, scheduled for June 9 (Wednesday), the South African team will need to perform a miraculous feat to secure victory in that encounter.
“We are acutely aware of the anticipated pressure surrounding our last group match; it is poised to be an exceptionally challenging contest, especially considering we will face the hosts, buoyed by their enthusiastic supporters,” he remarked.
The semifinal matches will see Egypt take on Algeria, with the second involving Morocco and Rwanda taking place on July 8.
The final match between the semifinalists will be played on July 9.
