A dry day for Africa in today’s Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament
Mozambican welter Alcinda Panguana proved no match for China’s seasoned campaigner Hong Gu, a two-time Aiba women’s world championships silver medallist and three-time Asian champion.
The Chinese boxer dictated the proceedings from the first to the third round for an authoritative 5-0 pts victory.
Panguana joins fallen Merven Clair of Mauritius who was sent packing in today’s first session by Ireland’s Aidan Walsh.
In the round of 16 lightweight berth, DR Congo’s Naomie Yumba went star gazing against the more experienced Uzbekistan’s Raykhona Kodirova who hammered her 5-0 pts.
The three remaining African boxers carrying the continent’s hopes in the quarter-finals are Mozambican middleweight Rady Gramane, Ghana’s Samuel Takyi and Algeria’s Imane Khelifa.
Gramane tomorrow, July 31, takes on battle-hardened Russian Zenfira Magomedalieva with Takyi meeting Columbia’s Ceiber David Segura on Sunday.
Takyi will be aiming to end Ghana’s 29-year boxing drought in the Olympics.
Prince Amartey’s bronze in the middleweight division at the 1972 Munich Olympics is the last medal won by the West African nation famed for some top world boxers among them former WBC featherweight champ Professor Azuma Nelson.
Clement Quartey won their first medal – a siver – at the 1960 Rome Olympics with Eddie Blay scooping a bronze in the Tokyo 1964 Olympics.
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