Kenyan women boxers struggle at world championships in Serbia
Day One on March 9 saw three African boxers kissing goodbye to the tournament
The 14th edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Serbia has been a tough outing for Kenyan boxers in the ring with a couple of casualties already along the way in the tournament being held in the City of Nis.
The walkover victories of flyweight Lencer Akinyi and featherweight Pauline Chege recently following the unavailability of their opponents, might have been the only positive news. After Day Two action, a total of seven African boxers have so far been eliminated.
Day One on March 9 saw three African boxers kissing goodbye to the Women’s World Boxing Championships. They are Kenya’s light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe beaten 5-0 by Kazakhstan’s two-time world championships medalist Alua Belkibekova and two Ethiopians, light-flyweight Werkneshi Wada and lightweight Million Cherba who lost via a walkover while Wada was stopped in the second round by Turkey’s Aysen Taskin.
Kenya’s struggles were real and painful as other medal prospects fell along the way in the competition. Chege and Akinyi, who had sailed through the opening round without throwing a punch, were eliminated in the Round of 16. Both fighters lost via referee stoppage, unable to beat the count in their featherweight and flyweight bouts, respectively.
Chege faced 26-year-old Mijgona Samadova, a 2022 Asian Games bronze medalist who dominated for large swathes of her fight with Cuban referee Wilfredo Vazquez Calro stopping the contest in the second round after two minutes on the clock.The four judges ultimately scored by unanimous decision in Samadova’s favor 4-0 (10-9,10-9,10-8,10-9).
Meanwhile, Akinyi, making her World Championships debut, endured an even shorter bout. Serbian teenager Dragana Jovanovic overwhelmed her with a flurry of punches, forcing Kyrgyzstani referee Zhamila Borkoeva to stop the contest after just 102 seconds in the first round. This loss adds to Kenya’s seven off the eight traveling pugilists marking a horrible show in Europe.
Veteran Liz Andiego is the lone survivor as she awaits her quarter final bout later on in the week.The 38 year old veteran in her fifth competitive world championships is seeking to follow the footsteps of Christine Ongare in 2023. Andiego received a bye to the light-heavyweight quarterfinals and will face China’s Wang Xiaomeng later on Thursday. Xiaomeng booked her spot by defeating Kazakhstan’s Gulsaya Yerzhan in the Round of 16.
With victory for Andiego would guarantee her at least $25,000 (Ksh3.25 million) in prize money. The overall competition prize pool stands at $2.88 million (Ksh360 million), with gold medalists earning $100,000 (Ksh13 million), silver medalists $50,000 (Ksh6.5 million), and semi-finalists $25,000 (Ksh3.25 million). Quarterfinalists who fall short will take home $10,000 (Ksh1.3 million).
