National boxing team ‘Hit Squad’ coach Benjamin Musa believes the suspension of sports activities, as announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta last Friday, will erode the gains the team have had in their preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
When the announcement — meant to help in the fight against coronavirus pandemic — was made, Musa and his charges were in the DRC, where they excelled in the Africa Zone 3 Championships, but he feels these successes could go down the drain.
“The Olympics is just three months away and if we stop training now, we will undo all the gains we have had so far,” Musa told the national broadcaster, KBC.
“Going by what we saw in Congo, there is a huge dent in performances when you don’t fight for a long time. We, therefore, urge all the relevant bodies to look at the possibility of letting us go on with our preparations as we observe all the set health protocols,” he implored.
Despite Kenya winning 13 medals in the continental championships, Musa said there is still a long way to go as they seek to improve on some aspects of their game.
“From all the data the coaches took, we have things that we will need to fine-tune. For example, for Nick (Okoth), we will be working on his punching power because it let him down in Congo,” revealed Musa.
The Hit Squad team had two representatives in some weights and it is something Musa is keen to carry into future tournaments.
“We had Edwin Okongo and Cosby Ouma in Congo. We are looking beyond the Olympic Games. There is the Commonwealth Games to look at. We want to give all our boxers exposure. Currently, there is a big gap between the Hit Squad team and the others. It’s a gap we want to bridge by giving all the fighters exposure,” he said.
Kenya will have four fighters in the Tokyo Olympics including Okoth, Christine Ongare, Elizabeth Akinyi and heavyweight Elly Ajowi — the only fighter who won gold in Congo.
