• We relinquished our unbeaten record and produced some lethargic performances where we got criticised but we managed to navigate through the storm," Chebet stated.
• Chebet weighed in to support captain Gilly Okumu's sentiments. Okumu, the national women's captain while in Birmingham zeroed down on lack of exposure as the team's main undoing.
Blazers' attacker Eleanor Chebet has challenged the team to rediscover their spark if they intend to retain the national hockey title.
The Kenya Hockey Union league resumes next month after a three-month break, which paved way for the national team's preparations and participation in the Commonwealth Games.
Kenya fell to Scotland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa — shipping 45 goals in the process and scoring none to condemn the country to their worst ever result at an international event.
Chebet, 21, was part of the six Blazers players to Birmingham. Blazers lost to Strathmore Scorpions in the league early in the season — ending their 10-year unbeaten run.
The defeat, coupled with a draw against USIU-A has raised eyebrows early into the new season but Chebet, a Misikhu Girls alumnus, feels they still have what it takes to defend their title.
"A lot has happened this season. We relinquished our unbeaten record and produced some lethargic performances where we got criticised but we managed to navigate through the storm," Chebet stated.
"Losing to Strathmore was another low moment but such experiences only serve to inspire us to do better. People have questioned our ability to defend the title but we are Blazers, the record champions."
Chebet weighed in to support captain Gilly Okumu's sentiments. Okumu, the national women's captain while in Birmingham zeroed down on lack of exposure as the team's main undoing.
"We have learnt a lot from Birmingham and the international experience will spur us on. We need exposure, learn to play as a team in high-pressured environments as well as improve on our skills and ball handling," said Okumu.
"We cannot run away from the fact that those teams were superior than us for the simple reason of bonding and playing in so many high-calibre competitions."
"Some teams like New Zealand and Australia had just returned from the World Cup. The gulf in class is evident but that gap can be closed if we get the right exposure," she added.