NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 29 -Kenya’s Christine Ongare achieved her dream of qualifying to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after punching Ugandan Catherine Nanziri in the Box-Off women’s flyweight at the Africa Boxing Olympics qualification in Dakar, Senegal on Saturday.
Ongare, who narrated a moving story of how she became a mother at 12, was hoping that a place in Tokyo would change her life and indeed dream has come true and she will only hope for the better after the Summer Games.
The Kenyan worked desperately hard but got her reward as she pounded out a unanimous points decision over Nanziri.
Ongare gives height to nearly every opponent and it was the same here as Nanziri tried to keep her at bay, but Ongare got through with two hard overhand rights and kept the Ugandan under pressure.
Ongare has to keep moving to avoid getting caught on the way in, but she is putting a lot of effort in and rightly is given the round on all the judges’ scorecards.
The start of the round saw Ongare back on the front foot and Nanziri under instant pressure as she tried to find room to box. But Ongare’s punch output is unrelenting, even when her headguard seemed to slip, slightly blocking her view and she finished the round with another right.
Ongare struggled to keep up the same output in the final round, and while three judges have Nanziri the final round, it was too little too late. As Ongare’s hand was raised, she dipped at the knees and pointed to the skies. She is now off to the Olympic Games.
