Africa was already assured of one medal in the bag when Zambia’s Patrick “Baddo” Chinyemba and Cape Verde’s David Pina punched their way to the quarter-finals on Tuesday this week in the Paris Olympic Games.
What now remains to be known is who between the two stylish boxers will win the medal when they trade leather in the eagerly awaited bout tonight at the North Paris Arena.
It’s fire for fire as boxing fans brace up for what promises to be an action-packed and entertaining bout between these two sons of Africa with almost similar boxing styles.
What’s inevitable is that they’ll have to put aside their African brotherhood and uncork bombs on each other in search of prestige and fame that accompanies an Olympic medal winner.
Chinyemba is the undisputed African flyweight king and has often told me in our interviews he has no opposition in Africa, and is boiling for a fight against boxers of his standard such as world champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan whom he is likely to meet in the semi-finals if he defeats Pina. Dusmatov is also in the quarters and favoured to get past Kazakhstan’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and 2021 world champion Saken Bibossinov
The Zambian has defeated most of the leading African flyweights including Pina whom he outpointed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers in Senegal.
Among his accolades, Chinyemba won gold medals at the 2022 Africa Elite Championships in Maputo, the Africa Olympic qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal, and the African Games in Accra this year.
Pina was also at the Maputo 2022 Africa Elite event but in the bantamweight category in which he won a bronze medal.
To make it the quarters, Chinyemba outpointed India’s illustrious Amit Panghal while Pina saw off Thailand’s Thitisan Panmot in the round of 16 bouts.
Besides doing Africa proud, both boxers have different motivational goals ahead of them.
Chinyemba is aiming to end Zambia’s 40-year drought by winning their second Olympics boxing medal since the late Keith Mwila won their first medal – a bronze – and the only one so far at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics while Pina wants to win Cape Verde’s first ever Olympics boxing medal.
Prior to this enthralling quarter-final encounter, Tunisia’s 2019 African Games lightweight champion Khouloud Hlimi will be in the ring during the first session against Turkey’s Yidiz Kahraman who defeated Mali’s Fatoumata Camara in the round of 32. Hlimi is the only representative from Tunisia, and knows the burden that she’s carrying taking into account Tunisia last won an Olympics boxing medal – a bronze – at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics through light-welterweight Fethi Missaoui. In all, Tunisia has won two boxing medals in the Olympics, the first one coming from light-welterweight Habib Galhia at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Africa now remains with five boxers in the Paris Olympics with 18 already eliminated. The other two who are fighting in Saturday’s quarter-finals are Morocco’s world heavyweight champion Khadija Mardi and Algeria’s world silver medallist Imane Khelif.
Credit: AFBC Communications
You must be logged in to post a comment.