Dare Kuti
Nigeria women’s beach volleyball team have emerged as Champions of Zone III at the just concluded Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Nigeria defeated Ghana 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) in an epic women’s final played on Sunday.
The pair Esther Mbah and Naomi Yaro have qualified for the main round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification series to be determined by the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB).
The coach of the Nigeria beach volleyball team, Kayode Ajilore lauded the spirited performance of the team in the tournament and for maintaining its dominant posture.
He said the girls have shown they are destined for greatness adding that the country will scale through the final stage.
The ex-International said, “Before we commenced the Zone III Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers, the young girls were ruled out by their opponents due to their sizes but I am happy they proved doubters wrong.
“It was a good performance from the girls in the final; they played very well and deserve to make it to the next round of qualification”.
Reacting, the President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Engineer Musa Nimrod said, “The girls have shown that we deserve a spot at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
“When the girls return to Nigeria, the Federation will ensure they get prepared and necessary support to scale through the last round of qualification series”, Nimrod said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s men’s team lost to Benin Republic 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-12) in the third-place match at the just concluded Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers.