Kenya has cancelled a planned training camp of its national boxing team that was to be held in January in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and will instead train locally for Africa Olympic qualifiers.
Secretary-General of the Boxing Federation of Kenya David Munuhe said lack of funds has forced them to shelve plans to train in Europe.
They will instead concentrate on sharpening their skills at home before heading to Dakar, Senegal for the continental qualifiers that run from February 20 to 29.
Kenya has named a 28-member squad for training. Head coach Benjamin Musa said the final squad will be named after a three-nation tournament that features Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania at the end of January.
The team will leave for Senegal on February 17 for the competition in which 50 qualification places are up for grabs for men and 27 for women.
“The team is strong and we have professional boxer Rayton Okwiri keen to compete in his second Olympics. Everyone has to prove they deserve a slot in the team,” Musa said.
The Olympic Games in Japan will feature 186 men and 100 women boxers (compared to 250 men and 36 women in Rio) with the number of women’s weight classes rising from three to five.
–xinhua
