2026 Commonwealth Games: Team Kenya Keep Hope Alive Despite False Start

Kenya recorded mixed results on the second day of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on Friday.

Swimmer Haniel Kudwoli started the day on a positive note as he comfortably won heat three of the men’s breaststroke competition in a time of 1:04.30 but failed to qualify for the next level of the competition, since there were 16 swimmers in the other five heats who registered better times than him.

In the men’s Wheelchair Basketball, Team Kenya wasted several chances and were duly punished by reigning world champions Canada, who thrashed them 16-3, in a match that had threatened to go either way in the early exchanges.

Robert Ngugi scored two points for Kenya, while Itaken Kipelian managed a point against the global champions.

“This was a good experience. It is our second time playing world champions Canada, we faced them last year. So, we can say there is some improvement in our game even if we went down 16-3. It’s a good progress," said Kenya’s Milton Ilahuya while blaming basic errors for the loss.

“Playing against world champions is not easy and I can say we keep on learning. They were closing us down and denying us shots whenever we were on offensive, but we showed them that we are not pushovers.”

Kenya women’s 3x3 basketball team lost 21-5 to bigwigs Australia, but hope to bounce back in their next match.

Team Kenya has an opportunity to right their wrongs on Saturday when basketball, swimming and bowls will be contested.