Is it acceptable to use ‘however’ in the sentence? Or is it much better to omit it?

Is it acceptable to use ‘however’ in the sentence? Or is it much better to omit it? Please help me. Thank you.

Surprisingly, Jason revealed that they had not undergone any formal training prior to the contests. His classmate Jacky commented, however, that they still had fared rather well in the competitions despite minimal preparation.