Malkia Strikers captain Triza Atuka (C) NOC-K
Despite a defiant performance against Japan in their final Group B game at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Malkia Strikers fell short once again in the women's volleyball, losing in straight sets (17:25, 22:25, ) against their Asian opponents in a match that was played at the South Paris Arena 6 on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the tournament, Kenya, making their fourth Olympic Games appearance, had set modest target for themselves as winning a medal is still a bridge too far at this time of their development.
The Japheth Munala-coached side went to Paris with three aims: to win a set, to win a match, and to score at least 10 points in each set.
During the tournament, Malkia Strikers only achieved the third target as they managed to score at least 12 points in each set they contested in but winning a set or a match remained an elusive goal.
Kenya, who are the recore African champions with 10 titles, has not won a set at the Olympic Games since its debut tournament at Sydney 2000. On that occasion, despite losing in all their five matches, Kenya returned home having won two sets following 3-1 losses to Australia and Croatia.
Kenya and Japan went into the match having already been eliminated following losses to Brazil and Poland in their first two matches at the Group Stages.
Kenya lost to both Brazil and Poland by three straight sets while Japan, Olympic champions in 1964 and 1976, failed to build up on their silver medal from the 2024 FIVB Nations League, losing 3-1 to the Europeans and 3-0 against South Americans.
Despite being a dead rubber match, both teams were eager to end their tournament on a high with Kenya delivering its best performances of the tournament during the first two sets.
Kenya had a woeful start in the first set, trailing 8-1 in the early exchanges. However, Malkia Strikers rallied to collect 16 points to Japan's 17 in the remaining to lose the first set by a respectable 17-25 score.
The second set almost saw Kenya win their first set in 24 years at the Olympic Games but their failure to build on their leads kept allowing the Japanese back into game.
Japan managed to remain to stay level with Kenya until when the score was 18-18. After that the Asians pulled away, progressively increased their lead, and went on to win the second set 25-22.
The third set was arguably Kenya's worst perfromance of the tournament. Malkia Strikers lost the set 12-25 after failing to recover from going down 8-1 in the early exchanges. Japan, keen on killing the game, did not relent on their onslaught on Kenya, reaching 20 points before Kenya even managed 10 points. They kept increasing their lead until victory was confirmed, their eighth against Kenya in eight meetings.
Following yet another miserable campaign at the Olympic Games, Malkia Strikers will have to do to the drawing board to address its consistent failures against non-African opposition at international tournaments.
While Malkia Strikers, with 10 titles, are the record African champions, their performances against non-African teams has continuously not been befitting of that status. In four appearances at the Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2020, and 2024), Kenya has exited all without winning a single match, suffering losses in all their 18 matches at Olympics. It is a record that seriously need to change and the onus is on the Kenya Volleyball Federation to make necessary amends before Los Angeles 2028.
