Kenyan teams fall to India in Junior Roll Ball World Cup final

The inaugural Junior Roll Ball World Cup came to an exciting close on Friday at the Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi, with Kenya’s junior boys and girls teams delivering strong performances to reach the finals but falling just short of victory.

In the girls’ final, Kenya lost 5-0 to pre-tournament favourites India while their boys’ counterparts fought hard in a well-balanced game but were eventually overpowered by the same opponent 5-1 in the final.

Head coach Stephen Nderitu expressed pride in the teams’ progress backing them to emulate seniors sides who have dominated the sport in recent years.

“I’m very happy with how the players performed. Reaching the finals in our first World Cup shows we have potential. We’ll now work on our tactics, especially improving our finishing and converting more shots,” he said.

Team captain Tasha Hawi also remained optimistic, saying the teams had learned valuable lessons.

“We’ve improved a lot and gained experience. We’ll use what we’ve learned here to come back stronger in future tournaments.”

The tournament, held from June 23 to 27, featured 12 teams, 8 boys' teams and 4 girls' teams, competing across 21 matches.

The boys’ competition followed a pool stage leading into the semi-finals, while the girls played in a round-robin format, with fans treated to five action-packed days of roll ball and an opening ceremony that set the tone for a historic event.

Though Kenya missed out on gold, their performance marked a promising start to what could be a bright future for the young talents on the global roll ball stage.