TOKYO, Japan, July 27 – Kenya Sevens skipper Andrew Amonde was emotional after the team failed in yet another bid to vie for a medal in the Olympic Games, but has called on his teammates to walk with their heads held high because he believes they did their best.
Shujaa, playing at the Olympics for the second time after the last edition in 2016, lost 19-14 to USA, 14-5 to South Africa and 12-7 to Ireland in that last match, to see the Kenyan side sit bottom with 3 points and miss out on the Cup quarters.
The team will now play hosts Japan in the 9-12 classification match as they seek for reprieve and maybe a win to boost their morale after such a disappointing run.
Amonde confirmed that this was his last Olympics and was disappointed to bow out on a low, having not achieved his target of getting a medal.
“For me this is my last Olympics. It was very hard to come here and say this was my last one playing for Kenya 7s. It is a tough one that I’m not going to play in the Main Cup at the Olympics because that is where I was aiming,” Amonde who broke into tears as he interacted with the Kenyan media at the mixed zone lamented.
He added, “It was a tough outing for us. We came in with our hearts into the program hopefully making it to the next level unfortunately we didn’t and it is something very hard to take as a player because we have worked very hard to be here and be able to represent our country. For us is to keep on rebuilding our team until we get a squad that will succeed in the Olympics.”
Speaking on the game against Ireland, Amonde conceded that the team failed to take their chances and they only have themselves to blame for the loss.
“Ireland did not play any better than us, we failed to execute when we needed to and we failed to defend when we needed to. We have a very good team but unfortunately the mental part of it is what escaped us. If we could have gotten it right, defended well and scored when we needed to, we could be talking a different thing today,” Amonde, who is also the overall Team Kenya assistant captain said.
Advising the young players who are in the set-up, the experienced Amonde said the future is bright for Shujaa but they need more exposure.
-Injera stays strong-
For seasoned superstar Collins Injera, who was also playing in his last Olympics, he said he will make a decision on his career when the right time comes.
“It was a tough one for us, we really wanted to go into the next stage but unfortunately we couldn’t make it. Ireland is a tough team, generally our pool was tough. For now it is just picking up ourselves to see what next,” said Injera.
“For now, my journey is finished with the Olympics. The future not yet decided. I will say that when the time comes. It was a good experience we had a chance from this one, but we blew it. So for us it’s to go back to the drawing board and build up for the next one,” Injera said.
On the future of the Kenya Sevens team Injera said; “It was good we had a big squad that was going for the Olympics. For us is to keep ensuring that they are moving There will be upsets and It is how you pick up yourself going into the next journey in life that matters.”
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Tokyo, Japan