{"id":105275,"date":"2025-07-11T18:30:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball"},"modified":"2025-07-11T18:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T18:52:13","slug":"mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball","title":{"rendered":"Mukobwankawe Aims for Top Four in World Sitting V-Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>After clinching the African title in style, Rwanda women\u2019s sitting volleyball captain Lilian Mukobwankawe says her team is ready to make history in the world by breaking into the top four at the 2026 Para Volleyball World Championships in Hangzhou, China.<\/p>\n

Mukobwankawe was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) after helping Rwanda beat hosts Kenya in three games to win the 2025 Africa Sitting Volleyball Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya really challenged us. For anyone who watched our matchups, those were the toughest wins,\u201d Mukobwankawe said upon arrival at Kigali International Airport on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we did our technical homework. We analyzed our strengths and weaknesses, and theirs too. What made the difference was our experience\u2014they lacked that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rwanda women\u2019s rise in sitting volleyball has been nothing short of remarkable. With three consecutive appearances at Paralympics\u2014Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024\u2014and a sixth-place global ranking, the women\u2019s team has become one of Africa\u2019s most consistent forces in adaptive sports.<\/p>\n

The 2026 edition will mark Rwanda\u2019s fourth appearance at the Sitting Volleyball World Championships under the leadership of coach Mosaad Elaiuty<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be our fourth time competing at the world level, and we owe it to ourselves and the continent to reach the top four. We will prepare thoroughly to raise both the African and Rwandan flags,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s team also earned their spot at the world championships after a strong campaign, eventually falling to Egypt in the final and claiming silver.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the performance in Kenya, team captain Emile Cadet Vuningabo expressed pride in their journey despite going 16 years without beating Egypt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe progressed with confidence from the group stages to the semis. Although Egypt proved tough in the final, our improvements were evident, and we aim to carry that same energy to the world level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Both Rwandan men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams qualified as African finalists for the 2026 Para Volleyball World Championships, scheduled for July 10\u201317 in Hangzhou, China. Kenya (women) and Egypt (men) also earned their spots to the competition.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. After clinching the African title in style, Rwanda women\u2019s sitting volleyball captain Lilian Mukobwankawe says her team is ready to make history in the world by breaking into the top four at the 2026 Para Volleyball World Championships in Hangzhou, China. Mukobwankawe was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) after helping Rwanda […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":105274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[7603,758,1073],"class_list":["post-105275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-liliane-mukobwankawe","tag-rwanda","tag-sitting-volleyball"],"yoast_head":"\nMukobwankawe Aims for Top Four in World Sitting V-Ball - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After clinching the African title in style, Rwanda women\u2019s sitting volleyball captain Lilian Mukobwankawe says her team ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mukobwankawe Aims for Top Four in World Sitting V-Ball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After clinching the African title in style, Rwanda women\u2019s sitting volleyball captain Lilian Mukobwankawe says her team ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-11T18:30:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-11T18:52:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1752247278.067599.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mukobwankawe Aims for Top Four in World Sitting V-Ball\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-11T18:30:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-11T18:52:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\"},\"wordCount\":362,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/07\/sm_1752247278.067599.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liliane Mukobwankawe\",\"Rwanda\",\"Sitting Volleyball\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/mukobwankawe-aims-for-top-four-in-world-sitting-v-ball\",\"name\":\"Mukobwankawe Aims for Top Four in World Sitting V-Ball - 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