L. MathekaKibugu headlines Kenya's contingent to Africa Junior golf championship
.jpg)
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 25.03.22. | 09:51
This is the first international eventfor the junior golfers since Covid-19 disrupted sporting activities globally.
Teenage sensation Njoroge Kibugu leads a team of seven junior golfers heading out to Egypt for the All Africa Junior Golf Team Championship, (AAJGC) set to be played at the Palm Hills Golf Course from 26 March to 1 April 2022.
The 18-year-old who has been the talk of the golfing circles since his impressive show at this year's Magical Kenya Open where he was the only Kenyan to make cut will captain the team.
The team will be accompanied by the Chairman of the Kenya Golf Union/Federation- Mr Peter Kiguru, Junior Golf Foundation Secretary – Rachel Chebukati and the Golf Development officer Mr. Njuguna Ngugi. pic.twitter.com/Sw722fQW8f
— TeamKenya (@OlympicsKe) March 24, 2022
The boys’ team also has Nyali golf club's Andrew Wahome, fifteen-year-old Krish Shah from Vet Lab Sports Club and Kiambu's Elvis Muigua.
The girls' team has Nyali's Alyssa Jamal, Vet Lab's 12 -year old Belinda Wanjiru and 13-year old Bianca Ngecu from Muthaiga.
The tournament out in Egypt is prime as the Kenyan players will get ranked by the World Amateur Golf ranking.
As part of our commitment to make golf more accessible, we also ran a junior golf clinic which attracted over 70 participants who got to learn from upcoming golf star Njoroge Kibugu after his outstanding performance in the 2022 Magical @KenyaOpen pic.twitter.com/OuTdMudh5r
— Peter Ndegwa (@PeterNdegwa_) March 14, 2022
On Thursday 25 March, National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) presented the team and three officials who will accompany them to Egypt with kits.
Speaking during the presentation, NOC-K second vice president Waithaka Kioni congratulated the golfers on being selected to represent the country.
“Thank you for investing in the youth, this is a demonstration that you are on the right track. This is the future of golf. I would like to thank the Ministry of Sports through the Cabinet Secretary Amb. Dr. Amina Mohamed for supporting sports activities and functions aiming to support youth development in the county.
NOC-K is putting up a sports facility in Ruai, OlympAfrica in partnership with the Nairobi City Council and we are looking forward to seeing the youth get opportunities to grow their talent," said Kioni.
The Kenyan Team travelling to Egypt for AAJGC was today handed over the National Flag by the PS Sports Mr. Joe Okudo.
— Kenya Golf Union (@KenyaGolfUnion) March 23, 2022
The team head by the captain Njoroge Kibugu will leave the country for Egypt on Saturday.
All the best team Kenya@PhilipOchola2 @DavidNdungu @vwangombe pic.twitter.com/kztiAbRtDj
Kibugu is riding on his recent form to guide his peers to the title in Egypt. “We are going to play the best we can and hopefully bring back the trophy. It is a different course, I have not seen it before but we are hopeful of a great performance," he offered. "I am encouraging the team to focus as we aim for excellent individual performance.”
Jamal, on her part, expressed her excitement for the opportunity to represent the country in her first international tournament.
"This might just be the road towards my Olympic dream, I played in Vipingo and enjoyed myself so thinking that I can go to Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2026 would be very exciting," she said.
The delegate will travel on Saturday 26 March accompanied by the Chairman of the Kenya Golf Federation, Peter Kiguru, Junior Golf Foundation Secretary Rachel Chebukati and the Golf Development officer Njuguna Ngugi who has been training the team for the last two weeks and reckons they are ready for the AAJGC.
The team will join 20 other participating countries that include, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Benin, Nigeria, Mauritius, Uganda among others.
.jpg)
