By GWEN CHIPASULA –
A groin injury has ruled out Carlos Kanyama from the Zambia Sevens team that will be heading to South Africa to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Africa final qualifiers this weekend.
The Kitwe Playing Fields (KPF) player, who got injured during a training session on Saturday, has since been replaced with MacDonald Mashau of Nkwazi.
Coach Reuben Mkandawire said the team will miss Kanyama’s services but was confident that the available players will be able to carry the day for Zambia.
Zambia was drawn in Pool B with Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda with Mkandawire saying the team was focused on putting up a good performance at the qualifiers to earn a place at the Olympic Games.
Mkandawire said in an interview after a training session at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka that his side was ready to face the likes of Nigeria despite having less knowledge about the West Africans’ style of play.
“We have been playing Zimbabwe for a long time and we have an idea of how they play. We have not played Nigeria but we are more than ready for them. We are not troubled with any team,” he said.
The team has the KPF quartet of Ntumba Besa, Patson Kasonde and Benaya Mukwamba and the Green Eagles pair of Thadious Chipoya and Martin Chisanga.
Others are Jackson Nkhoma and Israel Kalumba of ‘Powerhouse’ Lusaka, Ferdinand Kashimoto and Larry Kaushiku of Green Buffaloes while, the newly crowned 2015 Knockout Cup champions, Nkwazi have contributed William Mukuka, Mashau and Laston Mukosa to the team.