No boxing medal for Kenya as Rayton Okwiri bows out

IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Kenya’s hope for boxing glory at the Olympics came to an agonising end after Rayton Okwiri lost to Moroccan Mohammed Rabii in a round of 16 welterweight bout Thursday evening at Rio de Janeiro’s Riocentro Pavillion 6.

Following the elimination of his teammates Peter Mungai (light flyweight) and Benson Gicharu (bantamweight) on Wednesday, Okwiri was the sole survivor in the three-man Kenyan boxing team.

Okwiri, who had reached this stage after beating Russian opponent Andrei Zamkovoi in his first fight, however fell short of his coaches’ expectation and as a result capping off what has been a miserable 24 hours for the "Hit Squad" in Rio.

A clearly gutted Okwiri termed the 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 split decision victory in favour of the Moroccan as a surprise to him.

"I dominated the fight from round one and I don't understand how the judges awarded him victory," Okwiri said after the match.

"I prepared well for the fight and I had high hopes of winning a medal for Kenya here in Rio, but my dream is over now," he added.

Just like in the his first fight, Okwiri got his bearing straight from the first round in a bout that was watched from the ringside by Cabinet Secretary for Sports Hassan Wario.

In the second and final rounds he appeared to have overwhelmed the Moroccan who resorted to backpedalling to evade the Okwiri's relentless pursuit.

Okwiri had been hopeful of going one step better than Mungai who became the first Kenyan boxer to reach that stage in 16 years, only to fall short after losing to the younger and swifter Cuban boxer Joahnys Argilagos on Wednesday.

The Kenyan team was clearly crestfallen following the latest defeat which meant that Kenya’s wait for an elusive medal in boxing will continue.

Kenya’s last medal in boxing at the Olympics came in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea when the late Robert Wangila (welterweight) and Chris Sande (middleweight) won gold and bronze respectively.