•Spearheading Kenya's medal hunt in Istanbul is the Africa Zone 3 Championship Light heavyweight champion Elizabeth Andiego.
•Kenya will also peg hopes on the seasoned duo of Christine Ongare and Elizabeth Akinyi who comprised the 2020 Tokyo Olympics quartet.
Image: ERICK BARASA
Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa is hoping for a stellar performance at the forthcoming World Women's Boxing Championships scheduled for next month in Istanbul, Turkey.
A strong team of 16 boxers have been punching furiously on the bag to sharpen claws for the competition since reporting to camp at the Mathare Depot in Nairobi a fortnight ago. The team is set to jet out of the country on May 5.
Musa said it would be unrealistic to expect a medal haul at the games despite the surreal performance exhibited by the Kenyan contingent at the just concluded Africa Zone 3 Championship in Kinshasa, Congo where three female boxers bagged gold.
“What's important now is to ensure that we register positive results at the games. We don't expect our team to scoop medals as we did in Kinshasa, Congo given this is an entirely different level of competition,” Musa said.
Three female pugilists Elizabeth Andiego (light-heavy), Everlyne Akinyi (welterweight), and Teresia Wanjiru (light-welterweight) pulverized their opponents on their way to the winner's podium.
Spearheading Kenya's medal hunt in Istanbul is the Africa Zone 3 Championship light heavyweight champion Andiego who has been handed the captain's role.
Kenya will also peg hopes on the seasoned duo of Christine Ongare and Elizabeth Akinyi who comprised the 2020 Tokyo Olympics quartet.
Ongare will look to shake off her heartbreaking experience at the Africa Zone 3 Championship in Kinshasa Congo, where she was forced to settle for silver after a contentious decision.
The skillful and hard-battling diminutive boxer who traces her roots in the sprawling Kariobangi slums in Nairobi holds on to the conviction that the wealth of experience she gleaned from the 2020 Tokyo Games will power her to the winner's podium in Istanbul.
“Personally, I'm determined to give the World Women's Boxing Championships my best shot because I believe it will impact a lot on my performance in the subsequent international assignments including the Commonwealth Games.”
The 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist says she feels more comfortable battling in the minimum weight category which has taken away all the adversities she encountered in the light flyweight division.
She says the switch is bound to boost her fortunes in the sport even as she eyes a vintage performance at the forthcoming AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship primed for May in Istanbul, Turkey.
“To say the truth, I experienced a lot of challenges while battling in the flyweight division. It was hard squaring off with some boxers who switched from bantamweight given they were comparatively more muscular and a little bit stronger than me,” she said.
“I'm happy I'll be facing my equals from now on after switching to the minimum weight division,” she added.
She says the switch is bound to boost her fortunes in the sport even as she eyes a vintage performance at the forthcoming AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship primed for May in Istanbul, Turkey.
“To say the truth, I experienced a lot of challenges while battling in the flyweight division. It was hard squaring off with some boxers who switched from bantamweight given they were comparatively more muscular and a little bit stronger than me,” she said.