The Kenya Fencing Federation have fired back at German-born fencer Alexandra Ndolo for her unrealistic demands and sulking nature in her preparations for next year’s Olympics Games in Paris.
The federation president Fred Chege accused the athlete of making excessive financial demands, which they have been unable to meet because of various challenges.
“The World Cup(s) are just a series of build-up competitions leading to the Olympics. The requirement is that a fencer has to play in at least six matches. Considering she is the top ranked in Africa, Alex has already qualified for Paris and she knows this. We have tried to ask her to attend only the essential competitions in light of our financial challenges but she has refused,” Chege said.
Ndolo — who switched allegiance from Germany to the birthplace of her father last year — had via an Instagram post vented her frustration after missing out on the first World Cup of the 2023/24 season in Legnano, Italy after the federation failed to register her for the competition.
The athlete, who made her debut for Kenya at the Fencing World Cup in Tallinn, Estonia in November last year, added that the federation has also failed to book a hotel for her in time.
Commenting further on the issue, the president said they have stretched themselves thin to accommodate the 36-year-old’s needs and demands, pointing out that Ndolo’s ‘sulkiness’ has complicated matters as far as coming to a middle ground is concerned.
“When she came to Kenya, I told her that we don’t have the financial muscle to accommodate all her needs like it was in Germany. We are simply getting by…even the Ministry of Sports doesn’t have that much funds to meet her every need. We sent her three airfare tickets and she returned them saying it was already late. We tried to reach out to her to find a way forward regarding accommodation and she refused to talk,” Chege divulged.
He added: “We are still a young federation that only got affiliated to the National Olympic Committee in 2019. We acknowledge she played a pivotal role in this as well as the growth of fencing in Kenya but she should understand our situation as well instead of sulking.”
The president said the federation’s main priority is next year’s Africa Olympics qualifiers in Algiers, Algeria where he believes Ndolo stands a great chance of securing her ticket.
“For the federation, the main priority is the Africa Zone qualifying in Algiers in April next year. Alex is the top ranked in Africa with 116 points while the next best athlete has 25 points. She is virtually unopposed for that ticket to Paris as far as the women’s competition is concerned,” Chege explained.
Quick rebuttal
In a quick rebuttal, however, Ndolo said the response by Chege smirks of a man who is ignorant of the qualification process to the Olympics as far as fencing is concerned.
“This clearly shows that he has no idea about the Olympic qualification process. Fencers qualify through the world ranking. The highest ranked African athlete gets the ticket. The other African athletes go to the African qualifier tournament in Algiers,” she explained.
Ndolo added: “It’s a do or die competition where only the winner gets one additional ticket for the continent. Tell me why on earth would we/I be gunning for this competition when I am amongst the top players of the world?”
She, nonetheless, reiterated her commitment to making the country proud on the international stage despite the latest setback.
“All I need to do right now is stay the course, keep up my so far excellent performances for Kenya. It is unheard of that the reigning African champion is aiming for this qualifier in Algiers. It has never been done before in the history of these Olympic qualifications,” the five-time European Under 23 champion said.
Daughter of a Kenyan father and Polish mother, Ndolo also clinched silver at the 2017 World Cup and at last year’s World Fencing Championships in Cairo. Egypt.
Source-https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/
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