TOKYO, Japan, Jul 20 – With the last time Kenya won boxing Olympic medals being in Seoul in 1988, veteran coach Benjamin Musa believes that a change in the mindset for his four boxers will culminate into medals in 2020 Tokyo Games.
The late Robert Napunyi Wangila and Chris Sande spearheaded the medal haul in 1988, winning Gold and Bronze respectively.
Musa is happy with the input of the backroom staff in Tokyo and in Kenya, noting that their good effort has helped change the whole perception for Team Kenya boxers.
“This time round we started preparations early. Coach Geoffrey Kiman has really come through on the Strength and Conditioning. It has helped our boys remain nimble and focused unlike in the past when we only subjected boxers to intense jogging and physical exercises,” Coach Musa narrated as the team arrived here in Tokyo ahead of the games.
Musa is saddened though by lack of medals at the Olympics.
“This time I believe all and sundry don’t just want to participate but to also win a medal,” Musa stated the reason behind the rise in quality in Team Kenya boxing.
“It’s no longer just about participating and coming back home saying you were at the Games. An Olympic journey comes to fruition when medals are forthcoming. That’s the shift in mentality that has helped in pushing our spirited campaign to desirable levels.”
With four boxers namely; Nick Okoth, Elly Ajowi, Christine Ongare and Elizabeth Akinyi having qualified to the Tokyo Olympics, Musa sounded quite febrile of Kenya’s chances at the Games. But the instinct in him was levelheaded to predict their prospects.
Musa nevertheless says in boxing, it’s really hard to make predictions also given the tough pandemic situation, which has seen participants in high-risk sports like boxing cool their heels.
Okoth and Ongare qualified during the continental qualifiers while Ajowi and Elizabeth Akinyi made it by virtue of their ranking in Africa when final world Olympic Qualifiers were cancelled due to pandemic issues .
Of the four Kenyans, its only Okoth who has been to the Olympics.
Okoth aka Commander is a younger sibling of Kuala Lumpur 1998Commonwealth Games silver medalist Absalom ‘Diblo’ Okinyi. He was among the five boxers who qualified for the Beijing Olympics.
