Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenya national boxing team captain, Nick Okoth, says all the squad members are punching furiously on the bag to overcome the hurdles that compromised their performance in Tokyo and Serbia.
After asserting authority at the East Africa Boxing Championship in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where they plundered eight medals, the team has now shifted focus to the forthcoming Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championship in Cameroon a month from now.
Okoth reckons that the games will afford them a glorious opportunity to measure their potential as they train their eyes on a possible medal haul at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July.
“Besides going for the medals, we intend to use the tournament in Cameroon as a platform for gauging our readiness for the Commonwealth Games,” said Okoth.
Okoth, 38, has pledged to jut out his full talons in Birmingham as he eyes one last vintage performance that will define his legacy on his way to retirement.
“The Commonwealth Games will be my last competition and I’m thirsty for a gold medal. I want to use the Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championship to sharpen my claws well enough ahead of the Birmingham trip in July,” he said.
The Hit Squad contingent will be looking to put some glint on the drab performance they exhibited in Kinshasa, Congo in March last year where they emerged with 13 medals.
Kenya managed a lackadaisical show with Kenya Police corporal Elly Ajowi scooping the only gold after fending off a bruising challenge from reigning Africa super heavyweight boxing champion Yegnong Maxime of Cameroon in the final bout.
“From what I observed during the East Africa Boxing Championship in Tanzania, our boxers have improved a great deal and we expect a far much better performance in Cameroon than what we saw last year,” said Okoth.
Okoth holds on to the conviction that they gleaned some vital lessons from their consecutive debacles at the 2020 Tokyo Games and the AIBA World Boxing Championship in Belgrade, Serbia where they returned home empty-handed.
Pundits lashed out at Kenyan pugilists for employing more power than technique, thus playing easily into the hands of their opponents who were comparatively more technically adept.
“We have been working closely with the national team coaches to plug in all the holes that cost is victory in the preceding competitions,” said Okoth.
He said he will resume training on Monday following a short break he took upon returning from Tanzania on Saturday at midnight.
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