Kenya women’s para volley team hit camp ahead of World Champs

The national women’s sitting volleyball team has begun preparations for the upcoming World Sitting Volleyball Championships set to be held in Hangzhou, China from July 10 to July 17, 2026.

A 24-member squad hit camp on Wednesday at the Kasarani Indoor Arena with the final roaster of 14 players set to be named next week ahead of a month-long residential training.

The squad booked their ticket to Hangzhou following their second-place finish at the ParaVolley Africa Zonal Championships held in Nairobi last year.

Kenya Sitting Volleyball Federation secretary general Justus Katumo brimmed with confidence the team will hit top form before heading to China.

The championship will also serve as the critical opening milestone for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games qualification cycle with Kenya eyeing its debut at the Summer Games.

“We have started a one-and-a-half-month training period to properly prepare our girls so they can compete effectively against the other world beaters. We have top teams competing in this World Championship, so we want to put in maximum effort and ensure we perform well. We’re optimistic the girls with be ready before jetting out,” said Katumo.

Kenya is in pool A alongside their fellow Africa representatives Rwanda, hosts China and Iran.

Teams are divided into four pools of four teams (Pools A, B, C, and D) and will compete in a round-robin format to determine their rankings.

Other countries participating countries are USA, Germany, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France, and Thailand.

The trials to select Kenya’s provisional squad was held last December in Makueni with twelve counties—Makueni, Mombasa, Uasin Gishu, Siaya, Laikipia, Meru, Nakuru, Vihiga, Migori, Kisumu, Nairobi and Bungoma—participating in the tournament.