Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa has said his charges gleaned pertinent lessons from their unsuccessful hunt for 2024 Paris Olympics slots.
Musa spoke after the national boxing team returned home empty-handed from the second World Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand.
“It’s quite unfortunate that none of our six boxers managed to secure an Olympic ticket in our final attempt in Bangkok but all is not lost,” Musa remarked.
“The bigger picture is the experience we gathered from our unsuccessful journey. I believe the lessons we learned will be vital in improving the team’s performance in future competitions,” he added.
The development means Kenya will miss the premier quadrennial global games for the first time in six decades.
Kenya’s last-gasp efforts were dashed after the last man standing Peter Abuti crashed to Polish Mateusz Bereznick in the preliminary bouts at Bangkok’s Indoor Haurmark Stadium.
Abuti joined the bandwagon of thrashed soldiers, including captain Boniface Mogunde, Edwin Okong’o, Amina Martha, Elizabeth Andiego and Friza Anyango, who crashed out in the preliminary rounds.
The nation had deployed six boxers to Bangkok in a final frantic hunt for the few remaining slots following two previous unsuccessful bids at the Africa Olympic qualifiers and the first World qualifier in Senegal and Italy respectively.
Musa believes that the nation can improve its chances of securing slots if more boxers are allowed to travel.
“For the better part of our campaigns, we had a lean squad which limited our chances. Most of our opponents deployed full squads to the tournaments,” Musa remarked.
Team Kenya have not won a boxing medal since 1988 when Robert Wangila (welterweight) and Chris Sande (middleweight) won gold and bronze medals respectively at the Seoul Olympics.
The nation had previously stamped authority on the global front with the late Philip Waruinge, winning a bronze medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and silver in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Welterweight Dick Murunga tucked away the bronze at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Kenya bagged a bronze medal through Ibrahim Bilali (lightweight).
