Kenya’s Kabaddi team returns from Bangladesh
By Dennis Onyancha, June 5, 2024
The Kenya men’s Kabaddi team landed back in the country on Wednesday from Dhaka, Bangladesh after two weeks of action in the Bangabandhu Cup 2024.
The team jetted out for Dhaka on May 23, joining 12 other teams for the annual tournament organized by the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation.
Kenya lose semifinal
Despite putting on a flawless show in the group stage where they won all five matches, Kenya crashed out of the competition in the semifinal stage after losing 9-5 to Nepal in the raids.
Hosts Bangladesh would defeat Nepal 45-31 to be crowned champions for the fourth time in a row, making them the only Gold winners of the tournament since its inception in 2021.
Kenya who were placed in Group B alongside Iraq, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Japan opened their tournament card with a 58-26 win over Sri Lanka before securing their second win with a convincing 42-29 score against Japan.
They would extend their perfect record into the third round, closely seeing off Iraq 50-47 before a narrow 32-33 win over Thailand would secure them a semifinal slot.
A 55-16 drubbing of Uganda in the last group fixture would see them top group B, setting up a semifinal date with Nepal who had finished second in Group A behind leaders and defending champions Bangladesh.
A closely contested tie against Nepal would see Kenya lose 9-5 in the raids after level scores at the end of regulation time.
The loss now means Kenya has made it to two finals and two semifinals in the tournament, as overall victory in the global showdown continues to remain elusive.
Personal accolades however came in plenty for the Kenyan team, with James Namaba Daniel Odhiambo, and Sam Wanjala all clinching Man of the Match awards, Odhiambo doing it twice against Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Uganda, the other African nation at the tournament would manage only one win in the tournament, beating Japan 41-36 in the fourth round of group matches.
Team Kenya
The team comprised of S.W.Wafala, Geoffrey Njuguma, Tobius Murithi, H.W.Shimiyu, Daniel Odhiambo, James Kamweti, Nguguna Mburo, Hosea Muthee, David Mosambayi, Rayan Naville and Johan Karugam.
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