Paris Olympics: Shujaa co-captain pledges to bring A game to Paris after missing Tokyo Games

Kenya 7s national team; Shujaa’s co-captain Tony Omondi is brimming with confidence as he prepares to lead the team to the grand stage of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

This Games will start from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, France with rugby 7s kicking off two days before the opening ceremony.

Omondi, who leads the team alongside Vincent Onyala, will be keen to learn from his past mistakes to propel the team to victory.

He missed out on the delayed 2020 Tokyo games, a move he noted emotionally devastated him.

“I haven't recovered Tokyo Games miss. We all know the Olympics is the pinnacle of sports and means a lot to the athlete. However, I am happy I managed to pick myself up and for the last two years, I have worked hard with the support of my family and the team,” Omondi said.

Coaches, captains elated following introduction of girls’ rugby 7s to KSSSA calendar

The Mwamba RFC player further explained that captaincy duties at the team have enabled him to be in the best shape and form for upcoming matches.

“I'm not the same player I was in 2020 or 2021. The competition in the training squad is intense and I have had to raise my game to be a better ball carrier and decision-maker at crucial moments. This has been vital to my game,” he revealed.

He banked on Shujaa’s past victories to propel the team to greatness.

Shujaa are coming off a HSBC World Rugby 7s Series promotion. They defeated Germany 33-15 during the HSBC 7s promotion playoff played on June 2 to secure a space at the high table.

"It's been a tough journey for us but we have learnt some tough lessons along the way with the young squad. We have nothing to fear if we play our brand of rugby. For us, it's one game at a time as we wait to see what next," he offered.

The rugby team was the first to depart to France. They are in camp at Miramas as they await their first match.

Paris Olympics: Kenya Sevens head coach analyses Shujaa's pool opponents

The team has sweet memories of Miramas, having trained there before their HSBC promotion.

"We trained in Miramas before the promotion-cum-relegation tourney in Madrid last month. It's a very good facility and it will be ideal to block out the noise and keep us in the right frame of mind ahead of the Olympics,” he added.

The team has been placed in Pool B alongside Argentina, Australia and Samoa.

For the first time, the rugby 7s matches will start two days before the opening ceremony, with the men’s preliminary and quarterfinal stages.

The competition will take a break for the opening ceremony on July 26 before the medal-winning teams are officially unveiled a day later. The women’s tournament will culminate with the gold and bronze medal matches on July 30.

Regional qualifiers include Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania), and Japan (Asia), with South Africa securing a spot through the Repechage.