Nigerian female boxer and All Africa Games champion, Edith Agu Ogoke
A record number of 272 boxers from 39 countries have registered for this month’s International Boxing Association (AIBA) African Olympic Qualification Event at the Paposy boxing venue in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.
The continent’s best male and female boxers will be vying for the 36 qualification places – 30 men’s and six women’s – on offer for Rio 2016 from 11-19 March.
Moroccan welterweight Mohammed Rabii, the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Boxer of the Year for 2015, and four other athletes from the continent have already qualified.
Besides Rabii, Morocco’s Achraf Kharroubi, Algerians Abdelkader Chadi and Ilyas Abbadi, and Egypt’s Hosam Abdin are also ensured of a place at Rio 2016.
AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) fighter Mohamed Arjaoui and Rabii’s younger brother Hamza represent Morocco’s strongest chances of getting more qualifiers.
Algeria’s World Championship silver medalist Mohamed Flissi and two-time Olympian Abdelhafid Benchabla will also be among the favourites to reach Rio 2016.
“The African continent’s boxers continue to show their prowess and strength at AIBA boxing events, as highlighted by Morocco’s Mohammed Rabii who was crowned the first African AIBA world champion in Doha in 2015,” said AIBA President C. K. Wu.
“With a record number of entries and 36 spots available to the men and women in Yaoundé, this tournament is a key route to Rio 2016 Olympic Games and I am looking forward to an intense competition for the coveted places, ” Wu said.
Hosts Cameroon have high hopes for rising young star Wilfried Dieudonne Seyi Ntsengue and Tunisia, Egypt and Nigeria all have experienced boxers going for gold.
Nigerian boxers are already preparing for the qualifying tournament with a camp opened at the Brai Ayonote Gym inside the National Stadium in Lagos a few weeks ago.
The boxers are undergoing training under …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
