Hearing impaired football defending champions, Western region stormed the semi finals of this year’s Kenya Primary Schools Sports Association for learners with special needs (KPLSSALSN) ball games with two crucial wins at Kangaru School, Embu County on Thursday.
The free passing lads easily dismissed Eastern 3-0 before seeing off a stubborn Nyanza side 3-2 on post match penalties to book a slot in the semis.
The team, under tactician Jeff Khakina, overcame disappointment after learning that their discipline would not be sending a team to the East and Central Africa School Games in Rwanda, to make the semis.
In other matches played Thursday, Coast beat Nairobi 5-1 while Rift Valley overcame Central 1-0.
The association’s chairman Francis Manyala said they would only take a team of 22 visually impaired athletes who are participating in goal-ball for the week long regional tournament.
He explained that when the government started taking athletes living with disabilities to the East Africa games, they started with the visually impaired and agreed to include others each year.
“We were supposed to have taken the hearing impaired this time round but we have been asked to take only one team due to financial constraints,” said Manyala.
In goalball, various teams gave their best show as the fight for slots to the East Africa games kicked off.
Nyanza whitewashed Nairobi 10-0 in a one-sided encounter.
About 750 athletes with varying disabilities are participating in netball, volleyball, football, goal ball, and handball.
Manyala appealed for increased funding to enable more learners to showcase their talents at the event.
