NAIROBI, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya women's volleyball team will only have international friendly matches with Japanese teams after they failed to secure the required finances to fund its trip to Brazil ahead of the World Championship.
Technical Director David Lung'aho said any hopes of them pitching camp in foreign countries have been quashed, adding that the team will only jet out one week ahead of schedule to acclimatize to Japan and play a few friendly matches with their hosts.
The World Championship, which start on September 29, features 24 teams pooled into four groups.
"We have new faces in the camp and the team is in transition, so there are a lot of skills I need to teach before I get the final team. I know the new blood will blend well with the seasoned players before September. Our objective is to qualify for the second round of the World Championship. I know we are going for a win," said Lung'aho.
The team have been in training for one month and the coach feels they are nearing their peak form. "We are ready because we have had intense training for the last month in Nairobi," he added.
Kenya are pooled in group D alongside Serbia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan. Hosts Japan were paired with the Netherlands, Argentina, Germany, Cameroon and Mexico in Pool A. Reigning Olympic champions China will take on Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Canada and Cuba in Pool B.
In Pool C, reigning world champions United States will play Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Azerbaijan and Trinidad and Tobago.
Alongside their Olympic gold medal, China are also the 2015 Volleyball World Cup winners, and last year they clinched the FIVB World Grand Tour title to confirm their status as one of the world's leading international volleyball teams.
The women's volleyball World Championship is the only competition that China have not won in 32 years. During the most recent competition in 2014, China had to make do with silver, following a final defeat to the United States.
"My team and I try to win every match. I hope the Chinese women's volleyball team will always develop and become better," said China's leading star Zhu Ting in an interview with the FIVB.
