The KCB RFC lions Vincent Onyala and Samuel Asati will be out hunting for glory with the national 7s team Shujaa in the 2024 Paris Olympic games in France.
Onyala, who returns to the Olympic stage for the second time, will be the co-captain of the squad. Onyala first appeared on the decorated stage in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, together with Andrew Amonde, who travels this time around as a conditioning coach and athletes’ representative. Andrew has played in the Olympics twice, in 2016 and 2020.
“One of the toughest competitions in the world is the Olympics, but with the current set of players, I believe we can hit a podium finish. If you compare it with our time, the game has changed. It has grown. It has become faster. The boys have grown faster and bigger, and from what I see these boys doing, I think we stand a good chance of going out there and presenting ourselves very well,” Amonde said.
Asati, also part of the 12-man main team, will be making his first Olympic appearance. Asati has become a name to reckon with in the rugby scene with remarkable performance in 7s and 15s both at the club and national levels.
“Some players will be making their first appearance at the Olympics, and this is a good opportunity for them to show the world what they have got. It might not be like the competitions they have participated in before, but it all needs the discipline, hard work and focus that has propelled them to this stage.” Amonde added.
“We are all aware that this is not going to be a walk in the park, but one thing that drives us is the desire to be the best version of ourselves, regardless of the competition or the level we are in. We have to dominate the competition from the first game and win as much as we can to get to the podium.” Vincent Onyala noted.
Onyala captained Shujaa to glory in June, qualifying for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in a playoff match that was played at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
In addition, Festus Shiasi is also set to make his Olympics debut as he joins the team as one of the two reserve players. Fresh from the Rugby Africa Sevens with the Morans, Shiasi will join the National Team in Miramas for training camp ahead of the competition.
