Rwanda wins inaugural women’s African volleyball champs

For the first time, Africa will be sending a women’s sitting volleyball team to compete in the Paralympic Games.

It comes after the Rwanda beat Egypt in a thrilling five-set gold-medal match in the women’s ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships, which concluded on Wednesday (29 July) in Kigali, Rwanda. This was also the first time the Championships included a women’s tournament.

After being down two sets to one, Rwanda came back to capture the next two sets by only two points to force a fifth set, eventually winning the gold, 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 15-13.

It was a different story in the men’s tournament, where the Egyptian team cruised past Rwanda in straight sets, 11, 25-23, 25-12, for the regional sitting volleyball crown.

With the victories, the Rwandan women’s team and the Egyptian men’s team each secured qualification slots for their respective countries at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Final Tournament Standings:

Women

1. Rwanda

2. Egypt

3. Kenya

4. Democratic Republic of Congo

5. Burundi

6. Uganda

Men

1. Egypt

2. Rwanda

3. Algeria

4. Kenya

5. Burundi

6. Democratic Republic of Congo

For complete informaiton on the ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships, please visit Rwanda ParaVolley's website.