Kenya's table tennis quartet jets out in search of Olympic ticket

Kenya's Brian Mutua during the International Table Tennis Federation Africa Cup at Kasarani Gymnasium, March 1, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Brian Mutua will lead a strong team of four Kenya players in the hunt for a ticket at the 2020 Summer Olympics during the Table Tennis final trials set to run from 11th to 18th March 2021 in Doha, Qatar.

Mutua is a scholarship athlete under the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) programme.

He will team up with Josiah Wandera, Doreen Juma and Lydia Setey. The team will be accompanied by coaches Anthony Ringui and Mohammed Salat, with James Orongeas the head of the delegation.

The team of four that has been in a non-residential camp at the GOAN Institute since February finally left the country on Wednesday for a seven-day event in the Qatari capital.

Coach Jan Benerd (left) tips Kenya's Mutua during the International Table Tennis Federation Africa Cup at Kasarani Gymnasium, March 1, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Winnie Kamau will be part of the delegation to represent NOCK and her role will be to review and assess the progress of the team as they seek a ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“We know the kind of competition to expect because we are going to meet international players and we have watched their clips and how they train. It will now boil down to the day of the match; how mentally and physically prepared you are, and what you can do on that table as per the coach’s instructions,” said Wandera on the team's preparedness.

All expenses of the Kenyan delegation will be footed by Sports Fund and NOC-K.