Abuja – President of Ghana Volleyball Federation, Paul Atchoe, says Africa will make a mark at the 2016 Rio Olympics Beach Volleyball event.
Atchoe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that his optimism was based on the quality of play witnessed at the just-concluded Beach Volleyball Olympics qualifiers in Nigeria.
NAN reports that the qualifiers held at Jabi lake beach, Abuja, with 10 countries from April 14 to April 17.
Egypt obtained the sole ticket to represent the continent at the Olympics.
“With the level of game I saw in Abuja, I would say that beach volleyball has grown to a very high standard.
“I think in Rio, we will make a mark. Prior to this time, countries were just sent to participate in Olympics because there are no other competitors.
“But now, you can see that about three competitions have been put in place for all the countries in Africa and the best 10 just participated in the event.
“All 10 were vying for a slot at the Olympics; so, you can see how competitive it is. So, we will definitely perform well at the Olympics,’’ Atchoe said.
NAN recalls that African champions and host Nigeria lost out to Egypt in the semi-finals of the event and settled for the bronze medal.
Nigeria secured the gold medal at the 2015 All African Games and will participate in the Grand Prix championships later in the year. (NAN)