Hit Squad team named as quest for Olympic glory escalates

Kenya national team boxing head coach Musa Benjamin has named a squad of 13 boxers expected to represent the country in the upcoming pivotal Olympic Qualifiers - Africa scheduled for 9-15 September in Dakar, Senegal.

Confirming the selection, which coincides with majority of the winning boxers from Kenya’s round of selections conducted early July at Nairobi’s Charter Hall, Musa also acknowledges the fact that the criteria used was set to align with IOC’s new boxers quota, one that will now see the weight categories for men get whittled down to seven, with women’s going to six.

The winners in the select weight categories for men and women will guarantee a place at next year’s Paris Games.

The veterans in the group will be overall team captain - Elizabeth Andiego - who will drop a few ounces from her preferred heavyweight into middleweight, while fellow Olympian Christine Ongare will retain her light flyweight spot.

The two will hope to be the leaders of a rather young squad, with both of them having made the previous editions of the games in Tokyo two years ago.

Hit Squad place 17th overall in concluded Africa Boxing Championships

Joining them still in the ladies category will be recently crowned Africa Boxing Championships bronze medalist Amina Martha, who will box in her traditional bantam weight category, Pauline Chege (featherweight) who will be making her comeback to the national team, and the duo of Teresia Wanjiru (light weight) and Frizah Anyango in the welterweight division.

The men’s side will have seven boxers in different weight categories, led by hopefuls David Karanja - another Africa Boxing Championships bronze medalist - in the flyweight category, Samuel Njau (featherweight), Ethan Maina - lightweight, men’s team skipper Boniface Mugunde in the light middleweight category, and the trio of Robert Okaka, Peter Abuti and Fred Ramogi in the light heavy, heavyweight and super heavyweight categories respectively.

Kenyan boxing team to train in Cuba ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics - Ababu

“There’s been no rest for us,” Musa said of the team preparations following the team’s return from the Africa Boxing Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon where team Kenya accumulated seven bronze medals to finish 17th overall in Africa. “Our preparations have been top notch and what is left is to forge ahead, while expecting a call from the Ministry on how we will ramp up.”

During the launch of the one year countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts, Ababu Namwamba hinted at the probability of Kenya’s team heading out for camp in Cuba, as Kenya had secured an exchange program with the Cuban government that would see Cuban athletes also invited to train in Kenya’s high-altitude areas.

“Cuban athletes will train in Kenya’s high altitude training camps and on the other side we will send boxers to Cuba for training. Immediately we know who has qualified, arrangements are in place to take them to Cuba for training,” Namwamba said then.

“This partnership is not just limited to the Olympics but will be a continuous partnership. We also recently signed a partnership with the French government across various sporting spheres.”

The call is likely to happen, as Kenya stares at a sorry record; Kenya’s only gold medal in the Olympic Games came through Robert Wangila in 1998, with the last medal in the games coming in the same year - one that also saw Christopher Sande win bronze.

FULL SQUAD:

MEN- David Karanja (fly weight), Samuel Njau (featherweight), Ethan Maina (lightweight), Boniface Mugunde (Light middleweight), Robert Okaka (Light heavyweight), Peter Abuti (heavyweight), Fred Ramogi (super heavyweight).

WOMEN - Christine Ongare (Light flyweight), Amina Martha (Bantam weight), Pauline Chege (featherweight), Teresia Wanjiru (Lightweight), Frizah Anyango (Welterweight), Elizabeth Andiego (Middleweight).