How Shujaa put smile, and tear, on volunteer’s face
Shujaa player Nelson Oyoo autographs a rugby ball for Team Kenya volunteer Goshiro Sato as teammate Eden Agero (right) and Team Kenya assistant general team manager Solomon Mbogo look as the team departed Kurume City for Tokyo on July 20, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Today, the team will train from 10:10am to 11:10am at Tokyo’s Tsatsumi Ground with a gym session lined up in the afternoon at the Olympic Village.
- Shujaa have been pooled in Pool ‘B’ of the rugby tournament here alongside South Africa, USA and Ireland.
In Tokyo, Japan
Goshiro Sato wept.
The amiable hospitality specialist contracted by Kurume City as “Shujaa” guide couldn’t hold back tears as he received a signed rugby ball from the Kenya sevens squad at the team’s Hotel New Plaza.
Sato is one of the volunteers recruited by hospitality firm Keio Travel Agency to handle Team Kenya at their pre-Olympic Games camp in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture.
So amazing has been his handling of “Shujaa” that players and officials surprised him by autographing a rugby ball and handing it to him as an appreciation for his services.
“The gesture was to appreciate his commitment to ensure the team trains well,” team manager Erick Ogweno said.
“He clearly went out of his way to ensure that the team members and staff get all the support that they required for what has been a memorable stay in Kurume.”
A crowd of local children and their parents waved as “Shujaa” players and officials waved back as they boarded their luxury bus.
Kenya’s sevens rugby team “Shujaa” players depart Kurume City for Tokyo on July 20, 2021 at the end of their pre-Olympics training camp.
Ogweno said the team’s arrival at the Olympic Village had signaled their entry into an important, pre-competition phase.
“Shujaa” took the early morning, two-hour flight from the Fukuoka Airport after an hour’s drive from Kurume to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
“The arrival in the Olympic Village has made D-day more and more of a reality to the players,” Ogweno explained.
Locals bid farewell to Kenya’s sevens rugby team as they departed Kurume for the Tokyo Olympic Village at the end of their pre-Olympics training camp on July 20, 2021.
“You can tell that they are fully aware that we are almost done with the preparation phase and we are now approaching the competition phase where more initiative will be required from their end,” he added, matter-of-factly.
Today, the team will train from 10:10am to 11:10am at Tokyo’s Tsatsumi Ground with a gym session lined up in the afternoon at the Olympic Village.
Shujaa have been pooled in Pool ‘B’ of the rugby tournament here alongside South Africa, USA and Ireland.
“Shujaa”squad:
Andrew Amonde (KCB,Captain), Jacob Ojee (KCB, Johnstone Olindi (KCB), Billy Odhiambo (Mwamba), Collins Injera (Mwamba), Daniel Taabu (Mwamba), Eden Agero (Kenya Harlequin), Vincent Onyala (KCB), Nelson Oyoo (Top Fry Nakuru), Jeffrey Oluoch (Homeboyz), Alvin Otieno (Homeboyz), Herman Humwa (Kenya Harlequin), Willy Ambaka (Kenya Harlequin).
