Kenya national boxing team 'Hit Squad' that will be fighting for slots to represent the country at the Tokyo Olympics later this year are set to start their non-residential training at the Depot Boxing Gym in Mathare this weekend.
The squad of 28 fighters were picked after the final leg of the national league in Kisumu late last year with an eye on the African Olympic qualifiers that will be held in Dakar,Senegal next month.
“It's a hectic period for us and we are now going to start serious preparation for the qualifiers this weekend at the Depot field. All the boxers who were picked after the end of the boxing season last year are expected to be at the first training,” said Boxing Federation Kenya (BFK) secretary-general David Munuhe.
With the holidays just coming to an end, Munuhe revealed that the coaches will be keen to establish the physical condition of the fighters who will be in that camp before the training is taken a notch higher.
“We will start with the long road running session to know the fitness situation of each and every boxer. Then after that, the coaches can determine the next program as we go on,”explained the BFK secretary.
BFK had expected to organise a training camp for the boxers outside the country but with no feedback coming from the relevant quarters, Munuhe said they have opted to continue with their training locally until the situation changes.
“We are still hopeful but in the meantime, our focus is to make the best of our current circumstances and ensure the fighters are adequately prepared by the time we leave for Dakar,” he remarked.
The fortunes of Kenya in terms of taking fighters to the Olympics have been dwindling with each passing games.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, only three boxers Benson Gicharu, Rayton Okwiri and Peter Mungai qualified. However, none of them is in the current squad. Munuhe was, however, confident this crop of fighters will return Kenya back to their glory days at the games.
The African qualifiers will be held between February 20-29 at the Dakar International Expo Centre in Diamniadio.
