Young Lioness Nyachio hoping to bring A-game on board during Olympics qualifiers
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 21.06.24. | 09:45
Nyachio is hoping to play a crucial role as the Kenya Lionesses fight for a slot in the upcoming Olympics in Paris
Kenya Lionesses rookie Sinaida Mokaya Nyachio is determined to pursue her Olympic dream, undeterred by her young age.
The Lionesses are counting hours until the repechage tournament will take place at the Stade Louis II in Monaco from June 21st to June 23rd, 2024.
The winner of the Repechage secures a direct ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, a dream for the Kenyan team, which narrowly missed the final shoot-out in the HSBC Challenger Series.
As the youngest player on the Lionesses squad, Sinaida is driven by the goal of securing Kenya's third consecutive Olympic appearance.
"I'm the youngest in the Lionesses squad, but age is just a number; when it's game time, age doesn’t matter. The team Kenya camp was good and we are thankful we got the chance; we have really worked hard as a team and we are going to qualify," Nyachio said during one of their training sessions at Kasarani.
New to the team, Sinaida considers it a dream come true to play alongside veterans Grace Okulu Adhiambo and Janet Okello, who have rejoined the squad after missing the last HSBC Challenger leg in Krakow, Poland.
"Personally, it's been my dream to see Grace Adhiambo and Janet Okello, our captain, represent Kenya, so I’m very motivated and have worked hard to ensure we qualify. We will be very excited because it will change our lives as Kenya rugby women, and we are sure we are going to qualify. We will bring it home,” she offered.
Sinaida began her rugby journey in 2012 with Runda community rugby at the age grade level. She later joined the Homeboyz women's rugby team, receiving her first national team call-up in 2021. Initially playing for the 15s side, she recently earned her place in the sevens team.
The Lionesses are in Pool A with Argentina, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.
They missed an automatic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a 12-7 defeat to South Africa in the 2023 Rugby Africa Women’s 7s Cup final in Monastir, Tunisia.
However, they still have one last chance to make it to the Paris 2024 Games through the Repechage tournament.
They will start their campaign with a match against Papua New Guinea on Friday at 5:20 pm before playing Samoa and Argentina on Saturday at 2:20pm and 7:44pm respectively.
Lionesses Repechage schedule
Kenya vs PNG – Friday, 5:20 pm
Kenya vs Samoa – Saturday, 2:20 pm
Kenya vs Argentina – Saturday, 7:44 pm
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