{"id":12195,"date":"2020-08-02T18:03:21","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T18:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/kenya\/?p=12195"},"modified":"2020-08-02T18:03:21","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T18:03:21","slug":"for-christine-mamushka-ongare-its-never-say-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/for-christine-mamushka-ongare-its-never-say-die","title":{"rendered":"For Christine \u2018Mamushka\u2019 Ongare, it’s never say die"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author:\u00a0Ochieng Oyugi<\/strong>
\nAfricaPress-Kenya:<\/strong> It\u2019s strange how fortunes turn around. At 12 years old, star boxer Christine \u2018Mamushka\u2019 Ongare got pregnant \u2013threatening to curtail her career dream of becoming a footballer.<\/p>\n

Being raised by a single mother and growing up in the sprawling Kariobangi slums in Nairobi, life was no doubt difficult. Her mother was crestfallen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a passion to become a star footballer. But that dream was cut short when I got pregnant at 12 years. I had no choice but to accept the reality. My mother supported me during that trying moment,\u201d said Ongare.<\/p>\n

After she gave birth, Ongare ditched football for acrobatics. “The reason why I took up gymnastics was to regain shape after giving birth. It was through taking up gymnastics that I developed an interest in boxing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She later joined Box Girl Club in Kariobangi, which she honed her boxing skills. She trained well and took part in a number of competitions that sharpened her skills.<\/p>\n

Ongare\u2019s breakthrough came in 2017 when she picked a ticket to the Africa Championships in Brazzaville, Congo.<\/p>\n

She went ahead to win bronze in women\u2019s flyweight category (48 to 51Kg). \u201cThat was my turning point. I had come of age. I knew it was possible to be a world champion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The mother of one retreated to her base in Kariobangi Social Hall and trained harder as she targeted a medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.<\/p>\n

And she did not disappoint. She won bronze to become the only Kenyan boxer and first Kenyan woman to win a boxing medal from the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy focus is the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. \u201cI want to improve from bronze to gold,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Ongare is grateful have qualified for Tokyo 2021 Olympics.<\/p>\n

She hopes to shine at the Olympics and make money to take care of her mother and child.<\/p>\n

She has been assigned three coaches namely Musa Benjamin, David Munuhe and John Waweru by Boxing Federation of Kenya.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a big dream, which is to win gold at the Olympics. This is the reason I am not giving up even though I am worried with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She alternates training at Kariobangi and Mathare depot in her preparations.<\/p>\n

She sticks to a training programme sent virtually. \u201cThe trainers have suggested that I should improve on my punching power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my weakest point in the game at the moment,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n

Ongare does a lot of strength conditioning, push-ups and dumbbells to strengthen her arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cSquats help strengthen my leg. I also do shadow boxing and rope skipping but no sparring because of coronavirus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old has reserved Saturdays for road work at the rough terrains in the expansive Kasarani region.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s grateful that the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) has come to her aid to provide training gear that protects her from Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received dumbbells, skipping ropes, mats among other training equipment from Nock to help me prepare for Tokyo,\u201d she highlighted.<\/p>\n

Apart from boxing, Ongare has no source of income and has been struggling to cushion her family from the current economic meltdown caused by coronavirus.<\/p>\n

Her plan is to give back to the society after she hangs her gloves. \u201cI want to inspire upcoming pugilists, especially girls from Nairobi\u2019s Eastlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are vulnerable, they mostly fail to achieve their dreams because of challenges like early pregnancy, drug addiction, poverty among others,\u201d\u00a0she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author:\u00a0Ochieng Oyugi AfricaPress-Kenya: It\u2019s strange how fortunes turn around. At 12 years old, star boxer Christine \u2018Mamushka\u2019 Ongare got pregnant \u2013threatening to curtail her career dream of becoming a footballer. Being raised by a single mother and growing up in the sprawling Kariobangi slums in Nairobi, life was no doubt difficult. Her mother was crestfallen. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":10570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17],"tags":[1829,1865],"class_list":["post-12195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-sport","tag-box","tag-christine-ongare"],"yoast_head":"\nFor Christine \u2018Mamushka\u2019 Ongare, it's never say die - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s strange how fortunes turn around. 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