Adhiambo confident as Kenya seeks to bag more medals at Deaflympics

Kenya is looking to surpass the 24 medals (5 gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze) won in 2022 in Brazil, at the forthcoming Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics championships slated for November 15-26, in Japan.

One of the disciplines that the country is hopeful to make a mark and increase the medal haul at the 25th edition of the Summer Games is women's deaf basketball.

The category already has a pumped-up captain, Winnie Adhiambo, who is not only raring to go but is motivated to steer the country to glory in the global quadrennial games.

Adhiambo believes her side can make a podium finish in Tokyo following their exploits in Caxias do Sul three years ago, where they silenced global powerhouse and hosts Brazil.

"Beating Brazil was the hallmark of change for us, it was our first-ever win in the global championship, it showed us that all is possible. And now, that we are headed to Tokyo, we have developed that mentality of a winner.

"Even though we are in the tough Group A in Tokyo, composed of Italy, Lithuania and Australia, we are hopeful to top the pool in our chase for glory," Adhiambo told Standard Sports at the USIU-A Grounds in Nairobi where they are currently holding their exercises.

The team is on non-residential training but is expected to enter the residential camp at Kasarani Stadium on October 6.

Based on their intended objective in Tokyo, the 34-year-old mother of one says they are training very hard to realise their target.

"We are doing lots of workouts, gym work, ball handling skills and also those tactics that helps us to be toughened mentally," Adhiambo said.

“At times, I have been doing personal training with the hearing friends and also participating in their league and this has given me immense potential.

"For example, you find that players in the hearing team are very fast, so that has helped me to be a good athlete. I also share with my colleagues (in the Deaf basketball team) what I have learnt on the other side where I take part in the Kenya Basketball Federation League (KBF),” said Adhiambo who dreams of being a basketball coach in future.

Adhiambo reiterated the need for them to sharpen both their offence and defence as well as work on other key drills such as man marking before they depart to Tokyo.

The point guard who features for Footprints in the KBF League boasts a wealth of experience in the sport.

Adhiambo started playing at 19 after being inspired by friends and has never regretted.

Although she did not enjoy the sport at first, her passion for the game gradually grew, over time to the extend to which she is now challenging the hearing friends in the national league.

While hailing Adhiambo for her prowess, Kenya women's deaf basketball head coach Mary Chepkoi said she settled on Adhiambo as the national team skipper for Tokyo showpiece owing to the latter's leadership skills, and courage to compete with the non-hearing-impaired players.

“She is not limited to the Deaf team. She is this person who is outgoing and ready to compete in any platform, so that's the courage and leadership we need in the squad,” said Chepkoi who also coached the team in the 2022 Games held in Caxias Do Sul,  Brazil.

According to Chepkoi, who doubles as Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the team of 20 players has been training three times a week – Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The team will be whittled down to a final 12 before they leave for Tokyo.

“Having gotten players from different regions, they have not been exposed to training so there are a couple of fundamentals of basketball that we are still working on,” she said.

“We won one game at that time (in Brazil). We are looking forward to posting better results this time around. We are looking forward to picking a win in the group stages,” she said, singling out Lithuania as their biggest threat.

On her part, Christine Kirui, the chairperson of Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation said they expect the team to win a medal in Tokyo.

“As a federation, we are promising Kenyans that when we reach Tokyo, we are going to get a medal and bring it home. We know that is what will make Kenyans proud, so we will give our best,” said Kirui.

The Tokyo showpiece will be the third consecutive time that Kenya will be showcasing it's basketball talent on the global stage, following the team's debut in the global games in 2017 in Samsun, Turkey.