Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa reckons his charges have sharpened their claws well enough to assert authority at the African Boxing Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Musa said the entire team arrived in the Cameroonian capital in good shape and predicted a splendid show of might from the 15-member Kenyan contingent.
“We are all happy to be in Yaounde for the Africa Boxing Championships. We prepared well for the competition and I believe our boxers will put smiles on our faces with impressive performances,” Musa said.
He expressed confidence in their ability to storm the medal podium. “I’m confident we picked the right boxers who have the expertise to make things happen,” Musa stated.
“We just hope there will be a level playing field and everyone will be treated in a just way,” he added.
Musa asked his charges to push above their weight and punch as many tickets as possible to the 2024 Paris Olympics in France.
“This is among the tournaments lined up by the International Olympic Committee to create the pathways to the Paris 2024 Olympics. We all need to give it our best shot,” Musa said.
Trimmed down from an initial 24-member provisional squad, the team arrived in Yaounde on Friday for the annual continental showpiece scheduled to run between July 27 and August 6.
Hit Squad conducted their training sessions both at the Mathare Depot and the VMX Fitness Centre at the Village Market in Nairobi for the last two months.
Four boxers were scheduled to open the nation’s account in the preliminaries last night, according to Musa. “We are ready to begin action this evening. Our captain Boniface Mugunde will face Burundian Nestor Nduwarugira in the men’s light middleweight pre-quarterfinal,” Musa said.
Others who had their bouts last evening included bantamweight Shaffi Bakari Hassan who embarked on a medal hunt against Kewel Frontin of Mauritius in their pre-quarter-final bout.
Reigning Africa featherweight silver medalist Samuel Njau had a tough assignment against Cameroonian Tchouta Mbianda in the pre-quarter-final of the featherweight category.
Amina Martha of Kenya faced Lethokuhle Sibisi of South Africa in the women’s bantamweight quarter-final bout.
Robert Okaka closed the day in another enthralling encounter against Ugandan Idirisa Mukiibi in the light heavyweight division.
Kenya will hope to emulate their performance from the preceding season where they clinched three silver and a bronze medal.
Last year, former team captain Nick Okoth (lightweight) and his assistant Elizabeth Andiego (heavyweight), stormed the silver podium, where they were joined by featherweight Samuel Njau.
The current captain Boniface Mugunde settled for a bronze after crashing out in the semis while Shaffi Bakari, David Karanja, Amina Martha, and Christine Ongare all bowed out in the early stages of the annual boxing extravaganza.
