Jawo Optimistic of Gambia’s Qualification for Olympics

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By Sulayman Bah

Beach volleyball starlet Sainey Jawo is buoyed up of Gambia booking a place for next year’s Olympics in Japan.

A sensation for Dubai side Al Sadd Sports Club, Sainey is part of Gambia’s two-man-team that recently finished 9th in the World Tours in Doha in which US$5000 was the staked prize.

Sainey partnered teammate and Gambia international Babu Jarra to beat Japan before losing to Poland in that tourney.

Up next for the duo who is also All- Africa’s beach volleyball kings, is the qualifiers for the Olympics teeing off this month.

They cross daggers with Cape Verde, Mali, Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry in games set to be staged in the Gambia.

Sharing his thoughts ahead of these games, Jawo , due to touch down in the country today, speaks of optimism.

‘I have the belief that Gambia will qualify for the next stage Insha Allah, because Gambia have now graduated from the stage of participation when it comes to beach volleyball. We will compete and give our maximum best,’ he tells Foroyaa Sport over the weekend from his base in Doha.

On the teams they grind it out with for the qualifiers, Sainey admits he has no clues of the adversaries but insists focus remains only the points on offer.

‘For those team coming, I don’t know their strength and their style of playing because I never play with them, but to me, that does not matter because we all playing the same ball; all what we need to do is stay focus and collect our three points,’ he says.