Hit Squad captain Nick Okoth has pledged to steer the country to a vintage performance at the forthcoming Africa Zone 3 Championship primed for April in Kinshasa, Congo.
Okoth reckons the 26 pugilists comprising the provisional squad have sharpened their claws well enough after punching furiously on the bag at the team's non-residential training camp at the Mathare Depot for close to a fortnight now.
The squad will finally be thinned out to a contingent of 13 male and 10 female boxers a week before departure.
The Kenya Defence Forces officer who spearheaded the nation's unsuccessful medal hunt at the 2020 Tokyo Games thinks the time is now ripe to turn around the country's fortunes in global shows.
“We have changed our approach in training. After the Tokyo and Belgrade games, we had merely trained for fitness, but now we are breaking a sweat with our sights firmly trained on the Africa Zone 3 Championship coming up next month,” Okoth said.
“As the team captain, I'm impressed with what I've seen so far in the camp. The morale is high and we are ready to make the country proud in Kinshasa.,” he added.
Okoth believes Kinshasa will offer them a perfect platform to gauge their mettle ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games later in July.
“We need to target as many medals as possible in Kinshasa next month because if we manage to scoop especially gold, it will be a clear indication we are ready for Birmingham.
Okoth reiterated his desire to wrap up his stellar career with one last vintage performance that will garnish his cabinet with memorable honours.
He will be eyeing three gold medals from the Africa Zone 3, Africa Boxing Championships and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“Like I said earlier on, this will be my final year in the ring. I hope to call time on my career after the Commonwealth Games in July and I'm not ready to sign out with losses,” said Okoth.
“I believe I've prepared well and I'm looking forward to having a brilliant time at the games. I'll simply apply whatever I've been taught by the coaches and spruce it up with my own expertise,” Okoth said.
