Is it the end of Kenyan boxing on the Olympic Games stage?

On April 18, 2018, a top global boxing official lamented about the rapidly declining standards of the Kenyan boxing terrain, terming the trend as worrying.

Houcine Houichi served as the President of the Africa Boxing Union (ABU) at the time he made the remarks.

"Boxing has deteriorated in Kenya. The country once blasted brilliant boxers, but nowadays we can easily predict the results they'll record even before they leave the airport for international bouts," Houichi said.

Houichi was in Nairobi to roll out a training and accreditation course for ringside officials. He was right.

The situation has drastically grown from bad to worse and it is not a surprise that no Kenyan boxer will be gracing the 2024 Paris Olympic Games scheduled to begin in late July.

The horrible news has gutted Kenyan boxing enthusiasts who are yet to comprehend how the nation has been reduced to a mere spectator in the premier quadrennial global showpiece following a fruitless campaign for the slots.

The world appears to be crumbling around a nation that once stamped authority as a boxing powerhouse.

The rain started pounding the local boxing terrain in the 1980s after several state corporations that sponsored clubs wound up following stringent structural adjustment programmes by  Bretton Woods institutions.

Austerity measures imposed by the World Bank and IMF in the late 80s and early 90s led to the collapse of state-owned corporations such as Kenya Railways and Posta which sponsored potent boxing teams.

The development left only three clubs from the disciplined forces clutching the straws. Before the debacle, the gallant members of the Hit Squad ripped their opponents apart at whim.

Long gone are Kenya’s greatest boxing clubs that served as conveyor belts for the country’s famed ‘Hit Squad’ boxing team of the '80s and '90s.

The last time the Kenyan national anthem was played in honour of triumphant pugilists was at the 1988 Seoul Olympics when Robert Wangila Napunyi bagged a gold medal for the East African nation.

A former Hit Squad boxer who sought anonymity for fear of reprisals placed the blame right at the feet of the national team coaches. 

 "Coaches fail to capitalise on the strengths of boxers who get a call-up to the national team," he said.

"Boxers are drawn from clubs where the coaches use different coaching philosophies.
"It doesn't make sense to force the boxers to fit into the tactics dictated by the national team coaches.

"Coaches should take note of the strengths of the boxers during the selection process. Doing so makes it easy to work on their weaknesses once they report for training."

He blasted the coaches for turning Kenyan boxers into Guinea pigs and exposing them to all sorts of experiments in endless bouts of guesswork.

"Local coaches tend to experiment a lot with different coaching methods. They should stick to one style so as not to confuse the boxers. They are tempted to copy from different countries thus getting all mixed up in the process. It's wrong to try and heap different styles on the same boxer."

The former Kenyan international also faulted the approaches employed by the coaches in training camps.

"Again, the coaches insist on too much physical exercises as opposed to sharpening the skills of the boxers."

A local professional pugilist who once plied his trade for the national team lambasted the current BFK officials for running the local governing body like a private enterprise.

"How do you expect the team to register any meaningful results when it is quite obvious that BFK officials have appointed themselves as the national team coaches? It's difficult for the country to succeed under such circumstances that discourage merit," he said.

Despite Hit Squad’s heartbreak at the qualifiers, stakeholders remain optimistic about the country's future on the international stage. He believes the Paris 2024 games in France will offer new tidings.

BFK honcho Anthony Ombok believes the country can still experience better tidings with more focus, determination, and resilience.

“As long as we work hard, we are likely to go far. I want to see a situation where boxers will own their cars. I'll be the first one to ask you for a lift to town,” Ombok said.

Ombok proposed comprehensive plans to replace the current crop of ageing boxers with young and vibrant blood.

“We should now start thinking seriously about bridging the gap that will be occasioned by the exit of the likes of Nick Okoth and Elly Ajowi who can no longer be available for national duty owing to advanced age,” he said.

Ombok said  BFK learned some key lessons at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which will be used to enhance the country's performance in future events.

“Every boxer nurse dreams of participating in the Olympics someday. We deployed four boxers in the Tokyo Games but unfortunately, none secured a medal."

He added: “We are putting structures in place to nurture budding boxers who will take over from those who have already played a crucial role in serving the country,” he added.

“I’m convinced Hit Squad will bag medals in the next Olympics and not just one but quite a number. This is because we have many young people who have embraced boxing. They saw what the quartet did in Tokyo and felt motivated.”

Ombok expressed dismay at the team's performance, noting that the local governing body had put in place the necessary structures and incentives to push the Hit Squad to the sky.

"They have all been receiving their allowances in good time and besides, they have all the facilities and equipment prerequisite for good performance,” said Ombok.

“Our boxers have no reason not to perform given the favourable environment they are operating from,” he added.

He reiterated BFK’s plan to increase its presence by spreading its tentacles further across the country.

“If you visit areas such as Busia, you will most definitely run into a beehive of activities unlike in the past when boxing was limited to Nairobi. That's what has always been our target — to roll out programs at the grassroots.”

Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa said there are frantic efforts by the BFK to resurrect the sport locally.

"We have witnessed the emergence of new players who were successful in taking on seasoned boxers. We have seen new counties emerge from the shadows, such as Vihiga and Trans Nzoia, and challenge traditional behemoths like Kenya Prisons," Musa remarked.

"To increase the chances of playing for the national team, the boxers across the country should train extremely hard and compete as much as they can.

"We are earnestly rummaging through the country to identify boxers for our national team and everything will be done on merit.

"There is a need to give young people the opportunity to fill the gap that has been left by retired boxers like Nick Okoth," Musa said.

The tactician bemoaned the reduction of the African quota at the Olympic games by the International Olympic Committee which will in turn harm Kenya's chances at the grandest stage.

"The competition for Olympic slots is now at another level because the IOC has reduced the number of slots reserved for Africa," he remarked.

The IOC will only accept boxers who win gold in the continental qualifiers. The Olympic body has narrowed the field to seven male and six female boxers.

"That's how hard it is. This decision is killing the spirit of the Olympics which is about participation. Initially, they took the top three boxers in each group when qualification was still done by the International Boxing Federation (IBA)," Musa said.

However, the situation has not been all that bleak for the national boxing team.

In March 2022, the team brushed aside insurmountable odds occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic to emerge second at the Africa Zone 3 Championship that concluded in Kinshasa, Congo.

Kenya secured a total of 18 medals in the momentous swoop to emerge second behind the hosts who bagged 38 medals including 13 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze medals.

That was a marked improvement from their performance in the preceding year when the team bagged 13 medals.

The Hit Squad then registered another splendid performance at the Africa Boxing Championship in Maputo, Mozambique, in April. Elizabeth Andiego, the team's deputy captain, won silver at the championships.

Andiego, who lost in the finals of the women's heavyweight division to Moroccan Mardi Khadija, also received Sh602,000 ($5000) set aside for the tournament's runners-up.

She was one of three Kenyans who advanced to the finals of the premier annual boxing extravaganza.

Andiego, 35, beat Tekasala Malewu of the Democratic Republic of Congo on her way to momentous glory. Featherweight Samuel Njau and captain Nick Okoth also claimed the silver.