COURTING SUCCESS: Champions Telkom Orange get back to the drawing board ahead of continental title defence

Sharon Odinga of Telkom Orange and Charity Miller of Vikings hockey team fight for ball possession in their ladies final match in the Vaiskhi 2013 Cup tournament at city park

After a disastrous outing at the Sana tournament in Mombasa, Africa Women's Hockey Club champions Orange Telkom are back to the drawing board.

The 16-time national champions had a disappointing trip where United States International University-Africa's (USIU-A) Spartans bundled them out of the Sana tournament in the semis as their junior team - Orange Rovers - fell in the final to the students.

Orange head coach Jos Openda told FeverPitch they will go back to the drawing board to come up with new strategies ahead of the continental showpiece set for November 22-30 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

"We had a bad day in office at the Sana tourney but all is not lost because we still have time to correct our mistakes and make sure that we are ready to take on tougher opponents."

Openda added that Sana tournament was an eye opener and he will work on all units to strengthen them in preparation for the daunting task that awaits them.

"My forwards failed to score in Mombasa, which is not a good sign, we were also poor in flicks. These are areas that need to be polished so we can be ready just in case the winners have to be decided in penalty shootouts."

Orange Rovers lost 2-1 to USIU-A Spartans in the finals after penalty shootouts.

Openda said securing their seventh title will not be easy, but the team is up to task and will play their hearts out to make the country proud. Orange will be defending the continental title for the third time in a row which means that they will keep the trophy should they emerge victorious at the end of the nine-day event.

He said: "We expect more clubs because Bulawayo, we have to up our game to bring the continental trophy home."

Meanwhile the women's national hockey team is yet to begin training for the second round of the International Hockey Federation World League series to be staged from February 28 to 8 March 2015 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The team was to get back to training early October, it is alleged that players allegedly refused to report to camp over unpaid allowances.

Kenya Hockey Union, who has so far paid the players Sh5,000 each, are waiting for the government to pay the remaining Sh15,000 per player.