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HSBC Challenger 2024: Shujaa keen on flooring Hong Kong, sail to the final
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 10.03.24. | 13:10
Kevin Wambua's charges were relegated to the Challenger Series last year and will seek to return to the top tier
Shujaa are gearing up for a nail-biting challenge when they are scheduled to lock horns with formidable opponent Hong Kong in the semifinal of the HSBC Challenger 2024 starting 10:02 pm at the Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Kenyan boys who have been on top of their game are coming from a narrow 7-5 victory over noisy neighbors Uganda in a closely contested quarterfinal match played at 1:55 am.
Before the quarterfinal match, the Kevin Wambua-coached side had registered two pool wins against Portugal (12-5) and a 17-14 victory over Tonga.
They suffered one defeat at the hands of Georgia (17-0). The performance saw them secure second position in their pool with six points.
On the other hand, Uganda emerged as the leader of Pool C, boasting a flawless record with wins over Germany, Uruguay, and Papua Guinea.
Kenya vs Uganda
Kenya started on a high and led three minutes into the game after the referee awarded them a penalty try.
Uganda then responded with a try thanks to Philip Wokorach. His conversion attempt was off the mark.
Those were the only points scored in the match.
In other men’s quarter-final matches, Chile recorded a narrow 12-7 win over Germany before hosts Uruguay registered a remarkable 26-7 victory over Portugal. Hong Kong China saw off Tonga 26-7 in the last match of day two at Estadio Charrua
Meanwhile, the women’s quarter-finals saw China beat Kenya 24-7 in a repeat of the Dubai gold medal final. Uganda overcame Hong Kong China 22-17, while crowd favorites Argentina beat Poland 26-17 in a pulsating match and Belgium overpowered Thailand 17-5 to continue their winning streak in Montevideo.
About Challenger Series
The Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens for the short format of the game which has experienced huge growth over the past two decades since the introduction of the global sevens series and becoming an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Games.
The bigger and better than ever 2024 edition of the Challenger kicked off with a combined men’s and women’s event at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on 12-14 January, followed by this weekend’s second round at Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo before standalone women’s and men’s events at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland and Dantestadion in Munich, Germany respectively on 18-19 May.
