Home giants plot to recapture hockey glory
Hockey
By
Elizabeth Mburugu
| Aug 24, 2016
Champions Sinyolo Girls and St Anthony’s Kitale will lead Kenya’s hockey onslaught at this year’s Brookside East Africa Secondary school games.
Sinyolo will lead former regional winners Kerugoya and newcomers Tigoi as they seek to ensure the girls crown remains home. In the boys’ contest, five-time East Africa champions St Anthony’s will be joined by former regional and current national champions Friends School Kamusinga and debutants Upper Hill on a mission to extend Kenya’s hockey dominance.
Sinyolo coach Alloise Owino told FeverPitch his main objective this year is to complete a double. “Our goal was to win both the national and East Africa titles. My girls fought hard in term one and delivered the national trophy and I now urge them to complete the job,” Owino said.
Sinyolo rose to fame in 2013 when they won both the national and East Africa titles. They defended the regional crown in 2014 and 2015 but the national trophy eluded them.
St Johns Kaloleni snatched the diadem in 2014 while Trans Nzoia Mixed forced them to second place in 2015. They however, reclaimed the crown this year after beating Tigoi in the final.
The Kenyan girls will be up against perennial rivals Kakungulu, Old Kampala and Namagunga of Uganda. They will play in a round robin format with the team with the highest points being crowned champions.
Fireworks are expected in the boys' challenge as Ugandans seek to wrestle the trophy from the Kenyans. St Anthony’s, the most decorated school in hockey, will be out for a sixth record title while Kamusinga will be hunting a fourth crown.
St Anthony’s coach Kelvin Lugalia said they will settle for nothing less than the trophy. “Our past results will count for nothing because we have been training hard and are ready to defend our crown,” Lugalia said.
His Kamusinga equal Emmanuel Sanya on the other hand is also confident that his boys will recapture their trophy. “My boys have worked very hard and I believe their efforts will not be in vain,” he said.
First-timers Upper Hill are also eyeing a podium finish. Upper Hill who caused a major upset at the nationals eliminating former champions Narok Boys in the semis will be out to prove that their success was not a fluke.
The Kenyan boys will be up against last year’s first runners up St Charles Kasasa, Ntare and Kakungulu Memorial of Uganda and Juhudi School of Tanzania.