NAIROBI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and Cameroon have withdrawn from the 2019 women's handball African Olympic qualification tournament in Dakar, Senegal next month.
The withdrawal of Cameroon and Kenya leaves just Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and hosts Senegal to battle it out for the lone spot at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
However, Mansourou Aremou, president of the African Handball Confederation (CAHB), says the low turnout will not decrease the level of competition, adding that he is delighted at what he says has already been a successful year for the continent.
"To organize such a prestigious event is above all a privilege and a great joy," he said, "It will be a real celebration of women's handball in Dakar and continues a year which has written a beautiful page of CAHB history with some enchanting results," said Aremou on Wednesday.
The three teams will now play each other, with the winning team booking their ticket to Japan and the second-placed team qualifying for the International Handball Federation (IHF) Olympic qualification tournaments to be held next year.
Meanwhile, the men's continental Olympic qualifiers will be held from January 15 to 25 next year in Tunisia. The tournament will be drawn on October 19 in Tunis, with 16 countries including Kenya having already entered.
The top two teams at the tournament will represent Africa at the Tokyo Olympics, while the third and fourth place finishers will have another chance to hunt for a slot at the intercontinental showpiece later in the year.
Kenya will be gunning for a chance to debut at the quadrennial sports event after two unsuccessful attempts in 2004 and 2016.
Coach Peter Mwathi acknowledged that the country is running out of time to prepare. "We need to be at our best. We are going to encounter tough teams so it would be ideal to start preparation as soon as possible. Other countries are already training overseas and we are yet to draw our schedule."
