Oympians Benson Gicharu, Aziz Ali and Nick Okoth are among five boxers named to represent Kenya in the AIBA Final World Olympics qualification tournament slated for Baku on June 14-26.
Other boxers making the team are heavyweight Elly Ajowi and middleweight Nick Abaka. Boxing Association of Kenya committee member John Waweru said the five are a very experienced lot, having already played the game prominently at AIBA global tournaments.
Abaka and Gicharu will also play in the APB verses World Series of Boxing (WSB) qualification tournament set for Sofia, Bulgaria in July.
“We hope to qualify more Kenyan boxers to Rio Olympics and the only hope we can hold on is the qualification of the very best at continental level.
Abaka and Gicharu will not go to Sofia if they make it in Baku. The Sofia event is sponsored by AIBA while BAK is negotiating with the government and NOC-K to sponsor the Baku tour,” said Waweru.
Abaka, who currently plies his trade in the AIBA Pro Boxing ranks qualified for Beijing Summer Games in 2008 but failed to honour his slot due to a nagging jaw injury he had sustained in the then regional military games.
Gichar, who also plays in the APB event, was the sole flag bearer for Kenya at the last London Olympics while Aziz and Okoth featured in the Beijing Olympics. Okoth and Aziz were among the four-man team to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Ajowi and Okoth are currently in top form after winning bronze in the All Africa Games in Congo, Brazzaville.
Kenya has two qualifications to the Rio Olympics so far with welterweight Rayton Okwiri Nduku having qualified in continental qualifiers in Yaounde in March and Peter Mungai benefiting from South Africa’s withdrawals.
Mungai became the second Kenyan boxer to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympic Games after South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee announced that it didn’t recognise Ibusiso Bandla qualification in Cameroon.
The stylish Kenya Police “Chafua Chafua” light-fly qualifies in a similar fashion as the Kenyan rugby Sevens women’s team did after South Africa were denied the chance by the country’s Olympic committee.
