Tug Of War: Andenga Bravery Puts Magnificent Absa On Cusp Of Sealing A Fourth Successive Crown At Interbank Games

 _{Absa Bank Kenya tug of war team women’s captain Christine Andenga (in front) leads the charges against rivals at the 39th edition of the Interbank Games currently ongoing in Nairobi. PHOTO/ ABSA BANK KENYA}

_{The flawless champions attribute good run on Kayas or small tribes at the workplace, where employees are accountable to each other’s physical and mental well being in the post Covid-19 era.}

NAIROBI, Kenya- They are strong, they are fierce, and they are dreaded! Like a Tsunami, they have swept all rivals to the sea, and are now on course to sealing a fourth successive title.

Ladies and Gentlemen, who will stop the magnificent Absa Bank Kenya ladies tug of war team that is literally on the rampage in the ongoing 39th edition of the Interbank Games in Nairobi?

Clinical team captain Christine Andenga so far has steered the flawless side to six victories in the tournament; beating Equity, Stanbic, Prime Bank, DTB and CBK with a whopping 2-0 margin each.

Last evening (Monday) they were poised to tackle I&M Bank head on, a match the skipper termed as a mincemeat to them.

While revealing the secret to their dominance in the sport, Andenga explained to Standard Sports: “It’s discipline and consistency. Players and teams cannot win anything without these two virtues.

_{Absa Bank Kenya tug of war team women’s captain Christine Andenga (in front) leads the charges against rivals at the 39th edition of the Interbank Games currently ongoing in Nairobi. PHOTO/ ABSA BANK KENYA}

“We do early preparations. We start our exercises in March, which turns very intensive from June, while our opponents commence their preparations between June and July.

“We have sought the services of professional coaches from the General Service Unit (GSU), as you know the GSU are the best in the tug of war game across the country, they even represent Kenya internationally in this sport.

“We have proper facilitation from our employer who has a wellness culture that promotes sports. Our employer has categorised championships, like the one we are currently contesting, as part of the wellness program that all employees ought to embrace to ease tension from the demanding work environment.

“Employees have also been subdivided into kayas or small tribes or houses at the workplace to keep track of each other and be accountable to each other’s physical and mental wellbeing during this post Covid-19 era.

“Lastly, we have a rule in the team that only players who have attended 70 per cent of the practices are fielded in games. This has ensured that everyone is consistent with training to get better and better every day.”

_{Absa Bank Kenya tug of war team women’s captain Christine Andenga (in front) leads the charges against rivals at the 39th edition of the Interbank Games currently ongoing in Nairobi. PHOTO/ ABSA BANK KENYA}

This season, the team opted to test their mettle a little further by joining the various tug of war leagues dotting the capital, and also to engage in various friendly matches each month, and the results have been tremendous, as most squad members have been seasoned with the thrilling outings.

“We have opted to diversify in the sport to add value to the players, and the fact that we are the Interbank Games defending champions we had to be solid. I’m glad the leagues and friendlies have made us peerless,” noted Andenga who is also the Absa Bank Kenya athletics captain. She also features for the organisation in women’s football in the ongoing banker’s championships.

Ahead of this year’s annual banking showpiece, Andenga said they worked on their skills and techniques to be perfect in all departments.

“Tug of war is a skill, not the body mass. You need to know how to go down and come up very fast. It’s such an involving game of which tactics keep changing all the time.

“It’s a sport of mistakes, you have to master how to capitalise on your opponents shortcomings. It’s a game that keeps evolving, so you have to learn the skills and the tactics every other time and this is why discipline and consistency in training really matters a lot in the game,” Andenga explained.

Andenga admits they neither go to the gym nor follow any special diet or nutrition, but they do a lot of strength training to prepare for tournaments.

“We lift and dribble tyres, we carry people twice our size on our backs, we do 15 laps across the vast Absa Sports Club field, we do intensive lunges, squats and hill climbs. After that we perfect our skills on the rope to master the various pulling techniques in the game,” she highlighted.

In a typical week, Mondays are for their cardio training, Wednesdays and Fridays are for rope pulling techniques while Saturdays are for hill climbs.

The team has had a few setbacks like ‘poaching’ of their best players by the rival institutions, but this has not dampened their spirits.

“We are grateful that we have laid a solid foundation in the discipline that ensures there are constant feeders to the final eight squad.

“Like the I&M Bank squad we were playing on Monday evening, 70 per cent of the athletes are our former players. Despite losing them to the opponents, this has not affected us in any way as we have Team A, B and C that provides a smooth transition to the final eight squad.

“We have sufficient back up as we currently have a total of 50 players who are so well committed to the cause.

“ The ‘poaching’ has not affected our tug of war squad, but our other teams currently battling in the ongoing competition have suffered a great deal,” she underlined.

_{Absa Bank Kenya tug of war team women’s captain Christine Andenga (in front) leads the charges against rivals at the 39th edition of the Interbank Games currently ongoing in Nairobi. PHOTO/ ABSA BANK KENYA}

When asked for her general assessment of this year’s opponents in the ongoing championships, Andenga admitted that their worthy rivals are the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) who they dismantled in the group stages with a 2-0 win.

“We are confident to meet them again in the finals on September 20, where again we have planned to show them dust,” Andenga warned.

And how does she feel to captain a side of champions: “It looks and feels great. It’s been a journey of growth, discipline and consistency for the last seven years. It has been a joy seeing this team grow from nothing into a formidable side that is now winning trophies.

“When we started, we didn’t have a coach and we would be in trouble if one member of the squad was absent. Right now, we have over 50 members who are all replaceable and very much committed to the cause,” Andenga said.

Absa Bank Kenya women’s tug of war results so far at the ongoing Interbank Games

-Beat Equity 2-0

-Beat CBK 2-0

-Beat Stanbic 2-0

-Beat Prime Bank 2-0

-Beat DTB 2-0