No Kyara Linskens at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Antwerp. — © Isosport
Bad luck for Kyara Linskens! The center of the French BLMA Montpellier cannot play for the Belgian Cats and the Olympic qualifying tournament that starts on Thursday in the Antwerp Sports Palace due to an ankle injury. Billie Massey (Estudiantes Madrid) is also not in the final selection of twelve.
A week and a half ago, Kyara Linskens dropped out of the competition match in the French LFB and with BLMA Montpellier in Charnay with a left ankle sprain. After checking with the medical staff of the Belgian Cats, it became clear that Linskens was not ready to play for the Olympic qualifying tournament in the Antwerp Sports Palace.
The 26-year-old and 1m93 tall Kyara “Kiki” Linskens (122 caps) is a starting player for the Belgian Cats and led last summer with a captivating double-double (18 points, 15 rebounds) in the final at the European Championships in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana and versus Spain, Belgium took it to a 58-64 victory and to historic gold. She was named MVP of the finals.
Also no Billie Massey (Estudiantes Madrid) in the selection for the OQT, but there are Nastja Claessens and Ine Joris. Both Nex Gen Cats compete for Castors Braine. The Belgian Cats will play against Olympic and world champion America in the Sportpaleis on February 8, against Senegal on February 9 and against Nigeria on February 11. America is directly qualified for the Olympic Games and the Cats must beat one African country to qualify for Paris 2024. Tickets are still available for the games on Friday (Senegal) and Sunday (Nigeria).
The twelve for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Antwerp: Julie Allemand (Julie Vanloo, Elise Ramette, Antonia Delaere, Maxuella Lisowa, Nastja Claessens, Laure Resimont, Becky Massey, Ine Joris, Bethy Mununga, Emma Meesseman, Serena-Lynn Geldof
Billie Massey (far right) also missed the twelve. — © BELGA
