34 year old Winnie Adhiambo,is a key player for Kenya at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics Games, set to take place in Japan from November 15–26.
She has a vast experience, including playing with players who are not hearing challenged.
Kenya will be participating in the women’s basketball competition for the third time in a row at the 25th Summer Games, following their debut in the 2017 championship game in Samsun, Turkey.
Beyond being the team’s pillar owing to her vast experience, Adhiambo will also lead from the front as captain, a new role she has fully embraced.
She has set her sights on guiding Kenya to a historic medal finish.
“We have been training so hard and our main aim is to make it to the podium (in Tokyo),” said
Adhiambo on the sideline of the team’s training at USIU-Africa Grounds in Nairobi.
The mother of one said she embraced the sport at the age of 19 after being inspired by friends.
Although she did not enjoy the game at first, her passion for it grew over time. She features for Footprints in the Kenya Basketball Federation League.
“At times I have been training with the hearing friends and also participating in their league. That has been of great benefit to me. For example, you find that players in the hearing team are very fast so that helps me to be a good player. I also share with my colleague (in the Deaf basketball team) what I have learnt on the other side (KBF),” said Adhiambo, who dreams of being a basketball coach in future.
Kenya’s coach Mary Chepkoi said they settled on Adhiambo as the team’s captain owing to her leadership skills, and courage to compete with non-hearing-impaired players.
“She is not limited to the Deaf team. She is this person who is outgoing and ready to compete in any platform, so that’s the courage and leadership we need in the squad,” said Chepkoi who also coached the team in the 2022 Games held in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil.
Kenya’s historic first victory over the hosts in Brazil is something they are eager to build on.
Adhiambo stated that the team must improve their offence and defence, as well as focus on critical exercises like man marking.
Kenya are in Group “A” alongside giants Italy, Lithuania and Australia. According to Chepkoi, the team of 20 players have been training three times a week – Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Having gotten players from different regions, they have not been exposed to training so there are a couple of fundamentals of basketball that we are still working on,” she said.
“We won one game at that time (in Brazil). We are looking forward to posting better results this time around. We are looking forward to picking a win in the group stages,” she said, singling out Lithuania their biggest threat.
On her part, Christine Kirui, the chairperson of Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation said they expect the team to win a medal in Tokyo.
“As a federation, we are promising Kenyans that when we reach Tokyo in Japan, we are going to get a medal and bring it home. We know that is what will make Kenyans proud, so we will give our best,” said Kirui.
