Kenya, once one of the world’s boxing superpowers but now groping in the dark to regain past glory, will be represented by a skeleton team of only four boxers in the Africa Games in Accra.
That’s the quota allocated by the government to the boxing federation.
It’s the first time ever Kenya will be sending this tiny number of boxers to the prestigious Games compared to the past when the country has mostly been represented by a full team.
The four boxers travelling to Accra are bantamweight Amina Martha (pictured), light-welterweight Alloys Vincent, middleweight Edwin Okong’o and heavyweight Peter Abuti.
Kenya won one silver and four bronze medals at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, a remarkable improvement from the one bronze and two bronze medals at the 2011 and 2015 Africa Games respectively.
The Mombasa-bred Shaffi Bakari, a product of former international boxer Lemmy “Cobra” Katibi, won flyweight silver with the bronze medals coming from welterweight Boniface Mogunde, middleweight George Cosby Ouma, heavyweight Elly Ajowi and super-heavyweight Fred Ramogi.
Credit: AFBC Communications