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Kenya's women clinch Olympic rugby spot

Xinhua, December 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenya's rugby sevens women's team secured a berth at next year's Olympic Games after South Africa relinquished their qualifying berth, Rio 2016 organizers said on Wednesday. According to Rio2016.com, South Africa earned an Olympic spot by beating Kenya in the final of the African qualifiers in Johannesburg.

However the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) said its own rules stipulated the national team must qualify at a full international competition rather than a continental tournament.

South Africa will still have a chance to qualify for Rio 2016 at a 16-team repechage event in June, where only the winner will advance.

Kenya will join the other 10 women's teams to have already qualified for the Olympics, in addition to the country's male outfit, who secured a place at the African qualifiers.

Rugby will return to the Olympic schedule in Brazil after a 92-year absence. Endti