Namibia: Volleyball Team Fails to Qualify for 2011 All Africa Games

25 March 2011

The national male and female Beach Volleyball teams missed the opportunity to compete in the All Africa Games scheduled to take place from 3 to18 September in Maputo, Mozambique.

South Africa won a gold medal, while Angola took the silver medal at the just ended Bank Windhoek All Africa Games Zone VI Beach Volleyball qualification tournament in Swakopmund.

The two countries will now represent the Zone at the All Africa Games.

The Namibian teams however won the bronze medal in the qualification tournament.

The other teams which competed in the Swakopmund tournament are Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

“This was a very successful tournament for the Namibian Volleyball Federation. Playing on Swakopmund’s main beach was excellent for promoting the sport to the Namibian public. The event created an atmosphere which all teams enjoyed. The excellent organisation of the event under the lead of tournament director, Heiko Kesselmann, was also praised by the participants,” said Heiko Diehl, the president of the Namibian Volleyball Federation.

The first round match results were determined by a draw and Namibia had to go up against the strong South African teams in both the men’s and ladies category. The crowd got behind their home teams, but in the end, the South African teams proved too strong for their Namibian counterparts and progressed to the final.

In the other semi final matches, Angola beat Zimbabwe to take the second spot in the final. Namibia went up against Zimbabwe for the third position. These matches produced great entertainment for the spectators at the Swakopmund Mole beach.

Namibia’s teams, Katzmaier/Landsrath and Brinkmann/Diehl had won one match and lost one match each in the men’s golden set match. However, Namibia beat Zimbabwe 16:14 to take home the bronze medal.

The final between South Africa and Angola showcased some of the best beach volleyball matches on Namibian soil. Angola had to settle for silver, after South Africa once again proved that they had the strongest teams in the tournament.

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