Dj Vnyash
Kenya Sevens team head coach Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance at the Paris Olympics, despite their ninth-place finish.
The composed coach noted that Shujaa had a great outing, even though they didn’t win any matches in the group stage, which led them to classification matches. In the group stage, they suffered losses to Argentina, Australia, and Samoa, but went on to defeat Uruguay and Samoa in the classification rounds.
After Shujaa secured their second victory at the Summer Games, defeating Samoa 10-5 in the ninth and tenth place playoffs, Wambua praised the team for their efforts.
“It was a commendable performance, and I’m very proud of the boys, three-quarters of whom are first-time Olympians. The competition level was very high, but our focus was on testing our systems and seeing how we can compete against the top teams.
“It served as a high-profile pre-season ahead of the proper pre-season for the HSBC Series, and I’m pleased with the boys because they gave it their all. That’s what every coach needs,” Wambua stated.
Kenya faced a challenging group B, where they lost to Argentina (31-12), Australia (21-14), and Samoa (26-0).
“I’m content, and we will keep trusting the process. The loss to Samoa in the group stage was due to nerves and some indiscipline, but we managed to regroup. The boys played with much more composure in our next match against Uruguay, delivering the finish we wanted at the Olympics,” he added.
Notably, Shujaa’s ninth-place finish marks an improvement from their tenth-place result in the previous edition, and they finished 11th in Rio 2016.
Shujaa’s focus now turns to the upcoming HSBC Sevens Series, where Kenya will compete after earning promotion earlier this year.
