The first batch of Team Kenya for the Tokyo 2025 Summer Deaflympics is scheduled to depart for Japan on Tuesday (today), Chief Executive Officer Duncan Kuria has confirmed.
The 25th edition of the two-week quadrennial multi-sport event starts on Saturday 15 with an opening ceremony at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The Games are expected to attract over 6000 participants from around the world, including athletes and officials.
Kenya, a traditional powerhouse in the competition, will be represented by a contingent of 180 members, including athletes, team officials, interpreters, delegates and medics.
Kuria said Team Kenya’s preparation for the competition is over and assured the delegation of a memorable experience in Tokyo.
He said that the second batch of the team will travel on Wednesday (tomorrow), followed by the final group on Thursday. “Team Kenya, we are ready for the Deaflympics. The athletes are well prepared. We are confident of a good outing in the Summer Games,” said Kuria
While 21 disciplines will be contested at the Tokyo Deaflympics, Kenya will take part in five, namely athletics, women’s basketball, men’s handball, golf and swimming.
Initially, Kenya was supposed to participate in 12 disciplines but seven teams were dropped due to budget constraints.
The teams that were pruned were women’s football, bowling, badminton, tennis, table tennis, cycling and women’s volleyball.
Team Kenya has been in a residential camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in Nairobi since October 19. “Our contingent is ready; we are very anxious to land in Japan and see that we post better results than we did last time in Brazil (2022),” the Kenyan boxing legend underlined.
“Tokyo has a wonderful environment that awaits our athletes and we are just hoping that when they go there, they acclimatise very fast. I believe in terms of competition, we are up to the task and we are going to challenge the rest of the world and win as many medals as possible,” Kuria assured.
The Tokyo Deaflympics will mark Kenya’s eighth appearance at the Games since making its debut at the 1997 edition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Over the years, Kenya has maintained a strong performance in the Deaflympics, with its 24-medal haul in Brazil in 2022 remaining the country’s best-ever performance in the Games.
Previously, in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics held in Samsun, Turkey, Kenya was top in Africa and ninth globally with 16 medals (five gold, five silver, and six bronze).
By Anita Omwenga
