The Chinese mainland women's rugby sevens team has clinched their spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics after a decisive 24-7 victory over Kenya in the final of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage held in Monaco on Sunday.
Displaying dominant form, the team won all six of their matches throughout the tournament, including a 31-0 win against Paraguay and a commanding 40-7 walkover against Poland in the knockout stages.
\"We are feeling really good, we are so excited to go to Paris,\" said Chen Keyi of the Chinese mainland team. \"I think we deserve it, we work so hard for each other, on and off the field.\"
Liu Xiaoqian echoed the sentiment, adding, \"We are so proud of ourselves; we are so proud of our teammates; and we are so proud of our coaches.\"
Meanwhile, South Africa's men's rugby sevens team also secured their place at the Paris Olympics by overcoming Great Britain 14-5 in their final match.
\"It's a pretty special group we have here, just to cherish the moment is what we're living for,\" South Africa's Tristan Leyds told reporters. \"There was a lot of external pressure, the people back home get disappointed [when we don't perform], but we kept the group tight and it paid off, we qualified for Paris.\"
Rosko Specman, Leyds' teammate, added, \"We have some pretty special youngsters in our team, they made us proud this week. [The Olympics] is the biggest sporting event in the world. It's pretty special to play in an Olympics.\"
Reference(s):
China clinch qualification for women's rugby sevens at 2024 Olympics
cgtn.com
