Kenya's boxing is flourishing and the country will be heading into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with marvelous medal prospects, Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa has said.
Musa reckons Hit Squad's historic feat at the Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championship in Kinshasa Congo, where they scooped 18 medals, attests to the country's ballooning prowess on the international stage.
Speaking on Friday, Musa threw down the gauntlet to the star-studded eight-member provisional squad enlisted for duty, saying they have a responsibility to delight the entire nation with a sublime performance at the Commonwealth games.
“We've selected the best boxers in the country based on their experience and performance at the Africa Zone 3 Championship in Kinshasa Congo.
“I believe they all have the capacity to fire the country to the desired heights in Birmingham,” Musa said.
“We've improved a great deal in the last few months despite the persisting medal drought. I've been observing the performance of our boxers and I can assure you we look sharper than in the previous years,” Musa said.
Musa, however, says he is yet to get the final word from the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) on the exact number of slots allotted to Hit Squad in the Kenyan contingent for the Commonwealth Games.
Earlier in the week, Musa said the criterion he will employ to identify his final team will purely be pegged on the number of slots provided.
And true to his words, he went ahead and narrowed down his selection to a lean provisional squad of eight boxers that comprise five men and three women.
“I'm crossing my fingers in anticipation for some positive news, given my options might be limited if NOCK decides to give us only a few slots,” Musa said.
“In case our options are restricted, we will use experience and recent history in the ring to identify our team for the games."
With the clock already ticking and the battle approaching fast, Musa has ruled out the possibility of refining his charges in preparatory tournaments ahead of the show.
He, however, clings on to the conviction that the wealth of experience gleaned from their recent international outings will reflect positively in the ring come July.
“There is a marked improvement in our performance compared to how we did things in the past. At least our boxers now have the gas to persevere throughout the entire bout, unlike in the past when most of them could be knocked out in round one,” Musa said.
