Kenyan boxers in Brazzaville for championship
What you need to know:
- The contingent also includes two coaches.
Kenyan boxers landed in Brazzaville on Friday ahead of the African Confederation Boxing Championship (AFBC) which begins on Sunday.
The government released funds for the team on Thursday night, enabling the boxers to travel to Congo Brazzaville after several delays. The first batch of six boxers - two females, six males as well as three coaches - left the country Friday morning aboard a Kenya Airways flight for Congo Brazzaville.
The second batch comprising boxers Simon Mulinge, Moses Mathenge, Fredrick Otieno and Victor Odhiambo will leave Saturday morning at 8.45am and are due to arrive in Brazzaville at 1.25pm.
The contingent also includes two coaches, namely Samuel Magima and Frank Muthee. The weigh-in sessions will be done Saturday afternoon, followed by the draw for the tournament, with action set for Sunday.
The competition, which will run till June 25, will also double up as the qualifier tournament for the AIBA World Boxing Championship set for Hamburg, Germany, from August 25 to September 3. Boxing Association of Kenya (BAK) president, John Kameta thanked the government for facilitating the team’s travel.
“The boxers will now have a chance to showcase their talent and I am sure they will make the country proud,” Kameta told Nation Sport.
The 12 boxers were chosen during the first leg of the national boxing league held in Kisumu.
The boxers were then put in residential camp before being asked to train at their respective clubs. Missing in the list of selected pugilists is bantamweight Benson Gicharu, one of the three Kenyan boxers who took part in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Welterweight Rayton Okwiri (Prisons) and light flyweight Peter Mungai (Police) were the other Olympians who competed in Rio.
FULL SQUAD
Lightlfyweight - Shaffi Bakari, Flyweight: Simon Mulinge, Bantam - Brian Agina
Lightweight - Nick Okoth
Light welterweight - Victor Odhiambo
Welter - John Kyalo
Middleweight - Blackmoses Mathenge
Light Heavy - Elly Ajowi
Heavyweight - Tobias Okeyo
Super Heavy - Fredrick Ramogi
FEMALE
Christine Ongare
Elizabeth Akinyi
