Telkom Orange hockey team win fourth consecutive continental title
The women's Telkom Orange Hockey team on arrival at the JKIA from the Africa Hockey Club Championships in Lusaka, Zambia on December 20, 2015 where they retained their Africa Hockey Club title. The team won their eighth and fourth consecutive continental title after beating Ghana Police 3-2 on post-match penalties in the final. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- With the feat, Orange cemented their place in Africa as one of the continent’s finest hockey clubs.
- The team beat Ghana Police 3-2 on post-match penalties in the final played in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
- Orange’s achievements in 2015 saw them emerge the Soya team of the year while Openda was named Coach of the Year.
Telkom Orange hockey team once again grabbed the headlines after another successful season.
The women team won their eighth - and fourth consecutive - Africa Hockey Club Championships title after beating Ghana Police 3-2 on post-match penalties in the final played in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
With the feat, Orange cemented their place in Africa as one of the continent’s finest hockey clubs.
En-route to the final, the Kenyan champions drew 3-3 with Police before beating Lusaka Sharks 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.
There they beat Ghana Revenue Authority 2-0.
(READ:
The semis win booked Orange their spot in the final, which was played over two days after heavy rains disrupted the match.
In the dramatic encounter, Orange held Ghana Police to a 1-1 draw in regular time, forcing the winner to be decided on penalties.
Jos Openda, the Orange head coach, has challenged his charges to maintain their winning ways.
SOYA AWARDS
Orange’s achievements in 2015 saw them emerge the Soya team of the year while Openda was named Coach of the Year.
They have been nominated for the next edition of the awards, due next month.
Locally, the Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) women’s league champions have higher chances of retaining their title for a record 18th time.
And besides having clinched the Heroes Day Cup as well as the Vaisakhi International tournament title, they lead the women’s national league with 36 points, seven ahead of Sliders.
On the other front, the men’s national league title race is turning out to be a two-horse race between champions Butali Sugar Warriors and Kenya Police.
The 2015 season was also a bad year for national teams, who failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games due in August in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after disappointing campaigns.
The national women hockey team’s quest for an Olympic spot was disastrous after Kenya finished last at the World League Two Series in Uruguay in February without winning a match. They even forfeited two matches.
It was all joy when Kenya won the first round of the Rio 2016 qualifiers last September after beating Ghana and Tanzania in Nairobi.
Then, many expected KHU to embark on early preparations for the second round of the qualifiers. But this was not to be.
KENYA HOCKEY UNION SHORTCOMINGS
After the league ended in December last year, KHU found it difficult to organise national team training camps as they owed players allowances from the World League One Series.
The situation did not improve at the start of this year as KHU invited players for an open national team training session which many skipped.
One particular session saw only one player show up with the rest staying away over unpaid allowances.
Being broke, the union was unable to name a provisional squad for residential training ahead of World League Two Series.
ALLOWANCES
More drama unfolded with a week to the event. KHU claimed that the government was yet to release the Sh17 million needed for the team’s travel, accommodation and allowances.
On February 10, with uncertainty still surrounding Kenya’s participation in the competition, the girls were informed that they would leave on February 12.
But then, when the final list of the travelling party was released, more drama unfolded: It had names of players who had long retired from national duty.
The team left Nairobi for Montevideo without the Sh5 million for accommodation and food.
They were to fly to Addis Ababa and then Rio, where they would connect to Sao Paulo and, eventually, Montevideo. They arrived in Sao Paulo on Sunday, February 15.
According to one of the players, no arrangements had been made for their flight to Montevideo as the only available flight could only take half the team.
During the continental qualifiers held in Randburg, South Africa, KHU’s poor preparations were exhibited once again.
The players met the unexpected at the Beaulieu College, where they were accommodated. The men and women teams shared a hall, where they slept on tiny mattresses spread on the floor.
