The improved performance by the national boxing team, the Hit Squad, at the just-ended Africa Boxing Confederation Championships in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has brought some sense of relief that all isn’t lost in the revival of the standards of boxing that are at its lowest ebb.
The team collected eight medals: one gold, two silver and five bronze. It finished third overall in the medal standings behind Morocco with 21 medals: 10 gold, eight silver and three bronze, and the host country with 21 medals: nine gold, five silver and seven bronze.
This is an improved show from last year’s championships held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where the team finished 17th with seven medals, all bronze.
In Kinshasa, Boniface Mogunde handed Kenya its first victory at the continental event since Nick Okoth exploits at the 2017 in Congo Brazzaville with his win in light-middleweight.
The Kinshasa outing came six months after another inspiring performances by boxers Edwin Okong’o and Amina Martha at African Games in Accra, Ghana, where Okong’o gave Kenya its first win in 17 years with victory in middleweight, while Amina claimed silver in women’s bantamweight.
The results came after the country failed to qualify any boxer for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after they flopped during the Africa qualifier held in Dakar, Senegal.
The country failed to secure a medal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham for the first time since the 2002 Games in Manchester, England.
The Hit Squad’s performance has been on a downward trajectory with no meaningful action from the Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) to address the free fall and stagnation.
Kenya, once feared at the major competitions like the Africa Boxing Championships, African Games, King’s Cup, Commonwealth Games, and World Boxing Championships, had turned into a punching bag in the ring.
BFK must now take advantage of the show in Kinshasa to institute programmes that will churn out more talented boxers from the grassroots to the national level.
