•The gaffer made the remarks after all eight Kenyan boxers who represented the country at the IBA World Boxing Championships in Uzbekistan crashed out of contention.
•Musa promised to reconstitute his team before the next major international competitions to boost the country’s chances of tucking away medals.
Image: HANDOUT
Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa has said he has no option but to load off rusty boxers who did a shoddy job in Uzbekistan.
The gaffer made the remarks after all eight Kenyan boxers who represented the country at the IBA World Boxing Championships in Uzbekistan crashed out of contention.
Musa promised to reconstitute his team before the next major international competitions to boost the country’s chances of tucking away medals.
“We realised there are boxers who have already reached their peak and are currently stagnant. We’re going to make some changes in the team and bring in some new faces,” Musa remarked.
“We also intend to rectify a few areas that cost us in the competition and do everything we can to polish up the boxers who did well and displayed great character in the tournament,” he added.
Musa, however, lauded his charges for recording marked improvement in the premier annual global show after three Kenyan boxers made it past the preliminaries with one advancing to the Round of 16.
“This time around, we did well. Well, we didn’t get any medals, but all of our technical and tactical areas have greatly improved,” added Musa.
“We thank God we were able to make it to the Round of 16, something we never achieved for a long time.
“We noticed we had a challenge getting into and out of the range without compromising our position. This was a big problem and it cost us dearly.
David Karanja, the only Kenyan to advance to the quarter-finals, bade the competition farewell after falling to the 2021 world bantamweight champion Tomoya Tsuboi of Japan who switched to the flyweight cluster this season.
Others who held forte for the nation included Captain Boniface Mogunde (light-middle), Abednego Kyalo (minimum weight), Shaffi Bakari (bantam), Joseph Shigali (light-welter), Edwin Okong’o (middle), Robert Nehemiah Okaka (light-heavy) and Hezron Maganga Sabat (cruiser).
Kenya’s focus now shifts to the Africa Cup of Nations Boxing Championships with the Confederation of Africa Boxing (CAB) yet to disclose the venue of the annual continental showpiece. Musa said they will be angling for many Olympic slots in the tournament.
“We shall work towards ensuring we get as many boxers as possible into the Olympics. We believe we have gathered enough experience in Uzbekistan to propel us to victory at the Africa Cup of Nations Boxing Championships,” Musa said.
Hit Squad will also be eyeing a medal haul at the Africa Zone Three Boxing Championships in Tanzania which were postponed to a later date after being initially set for April.
Kenya registered its first-ever World Boxing Championship victory in Uzbekistan after a prolonged wait, spanning a decade.
This was after Hit Squad cruiser-weight fighter Hezron Maganga put up a valiant fight to tuck away the landmark victory at the Humo Arena in Tashkent Uzbekistan on Tuesday last week.
Maganga punched furiously to demolish French Polynesia’s Tetoofa Henere in a engrossing action-packed Round of 64 thriller.
Decorated pugilist Rayton Okwiri recorded the country’s last win in Almaty, Kazakhstan 10 years ago, where he sent Australian Daniel Lewis to the gallows to halt a previous 25-year drought.