Shujaa's mistakes in the second half cost them dear as they fell short 31-12 in their opening Pool B match of the Paris 2024 Olympic games on Wednesday.
The Kenya National Men’s 7s side, Shujaa, put up a spirited fight but ultimately fell short, losing 31-12 to Argentina in their opening Pool B match at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Shujaa started strong, with Chrisant Ojwang landing an early try, which was well converted by Tony Omondi, giving Kenya a 7-0 lead.
However, Argentina applied pressure and managed to reduce the deficit with an unconverted try just before the break, leaving the score at 7-5 in favor of Kenya.
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Right after the break, Argentina's Augustine Fraca powered through to score their second try, which was successfully converted, putting them ahead 12-7.
Shujaa responded with a bit of creativity: Vincent Onyala won the ball and passed to Samuel Asati, who found Ojwang with a good pass down the right. Ojwang made a clever dummy move to assist Kevin Wekesa in landing another try, although the conversion attempt was missed, leveling the score at 12-12.
Argentina regained the lead with another well-converted try, making it 19-12 with just over two minutes left to play.
Despite a controversial moment when Kevin Wekesa appeared to be fouled, Argentina won a penalty and capitalized on it. A switch of play allowed the Argentines to counter-attack, leading to Luciano Gonzalez scoring a converted try, extending their lead to 26-12.
In the final moments, Argentina added another try, although it was not converted, sealing their victory at 31-12.
Shujaa will look to bounce back in their second match of the tournament against Australia, scheduled for 8:00 PM.
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