体坛英语新闻：Kenya men's sevens rugby team seeking Olympic debut

NAIROBI, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- For close to two decades, Kenya teams have not failed to qualify for either the Rugby Sevens World Cup or the Olympic Games.

On Nov. 8-9, the Kenyan sevens team will head to South Africa for a chance to make their sevens debut on the biggest stage.

Kenya will be joined by Zimbabwe, Uganda, Madagascar, Zambia, Tunisia, Senegal, Morocco, Namibia, Ghana, Botswana, Mauritius, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria.

Winner of the Africa Sevens trophy will qualify for Tokyo 2020 while runners-up will head to global repechage for another chance to qualify for the Olympics in June.

"I'm grateful to the Kenya Rugby Union for believing in me and allowing me to work with Shujaa," said coach Paul Feeney.

"Kenya has potential and we will work hard to harness the same and dominate at World Series and secure Olympic qualification."

Fiji, USA, New Zealand, and South Africa finished in the top four of the men's World Sevens Series to confirm their places, leaving the path open to Kenya to qualify.

Kenya now hopes to become the ninth team to seal their ticket when the Africa men's rugby Sevens tournament starts in Johannesburg on Nov. 8-9.

So far according to World Rugby, 15 teams have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Kenya women's team is the latest to have secured the ticket when they won the Africa qualifiers in Tunisia.

Kenya sevens captain Philadelphia Olando says her side is determined to experience the pleasure of playing on sport's biggest stage once again.

Olando says getting the chance to compete in Rio 2016 when rugby sevens made its debut, was a dream come true and Tokyo 2020 is now firmly in her team's sights.

"I played in 2016, it was a great experience - everybody dreams to be an Olympian," Olando told Xinhua.

"Going to the Olympics in 2016 was a surprise so we weren't as well prepared, but we have learned our lessons and I believe the team is in good shape. We are looking to make it to a second Olympics," said Olando.

"We have more young players coming in, there has been a good progression... they have shown so much potential. They bring a lot of positivity to them."

The remaining women's regional qualification tournaments are set to take place next month, with the Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship in Suva, Fiji, on November 7-9 and the Asian qualifier in Guangzhou, China, on Nov. 9-10.

The Women's Sevens World Series 2019 acted as the principal route for qualification for Tokyo 2020 where champions New Zealand, USA, Canada, and Australia claimed the coveted top four spots to secure their automatic places on sport's biggest stage.

Japan, as hosts, automatically qualifies while Britain and Brazil were the first regional qualifiers and have now been joined by Kenya.

A total of 12 teams will compete for medals in each men's and women's competition in Tokyo 2020.

New Zealand's All Blacks are the traditional powerhouse. They have an overwhelming victory rate winning three out of the eight World Cups.

Fiji rules in rugby sevens, having won the World Sevens Series and various other past competitions more times than any other country.

The Rio 2016 tournament provided something of an upset as New Zealand's men failed to win a medal. Gold, silver, and bronze were taken by Fiji, Britain, and South Africa respectively. Their women were runners-up to Australia with Canada finishing third.

As well as Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, exciting and competitive games are expected in Tokyo 2020. World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont says the sport has grown in leap and bounds.

"Rugby sevens inclusion in the Olympic Games was a defining moment for the sport. Since the outstanding success of Rio 2016 we have seen sevens grow both on and off the pitch, with the men's and women's world series becoming more competitive and the sport attracting new global audiences across the world series and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, where broadcast coverage reached over nine million viewers in the U.S. and a record digital audience."

"Throughout the global regional sevens competitions, we have also seen the emergence of teams who can compete among the best of the world when on the World Series. This year is an important and exciting one for teams as they compete to secure their ticket to Tokyo 2020," Beaumont said.