[Photo courtesy]
Daystar Falcons’ Patrick Odongo played a key role in yet another impressive triumph for Kenya’s Shujaa as the rugby 7s side edged Chile 12-5 to lift the HSBC Challenger Series at the Sevens stadium in Dubai.
The rookie dazzled as the Shujaa lifted their first title of the new year gearing up for their Olympics campaign in Paris 2024.
The Shujaa opened their Challenger series with a dominant display over Mexico thumping the South American side 40-0 in their opening fixtures as Odongo scored two tries.
The Kevin Wambua led outfit continued their charge against neighbours Uganda thrashing the fellow East African side 29-7 with Odongo at the heart of it all yet again.
The Shujaa faltered in their final pool C fixture as they fell 24-12 to Germany but roared through to the semi-final with a hardly fought 21-19 victory over Japan in the quarter-finals.
The semi-final clash pitted the 7s side against a dominant Uruguay side but the Shujaa thwarted their efforts thumping the South American side 21-5 to set up a final clash against another South American nation, Chile.
Odongo spearheaded the side to yet another title as they triumphed over Chile to be crowned Challenger Series champions.
In other fixtures Kenya Lionesses came up short in the final against China to succumb to a 19-5 defeat.