India, South Africa for boxing championship

Dar es Salaam. India and South Africa amateur boxers are expected to feature at the Champion of Champions Championships, which will start on December 15 in Dar es Salaam.

Apart from the two countries, which will be making debut in the championship, the event will also see the boxers from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and the host Tanzania competing.

This was revealed by the Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT) secretary general, Makore Mashaga yesterday.

Mashaga said they have invited a lot of amateur boxers to feature in the championship with a view to sharpening the skills for the Team Tanzania competitors, who are would represent the country at the Commonwealth Games, which will take place in Gold Coast, Australia in April, 2018.

According to Mashaga, Tanzania will field more than 10 amateur boxers who are now in off camp training under Coaches David Mwakipesile, Saidi Omari Gogopoa, Jonas Mwakipesile and Rogathe Damiani.

“All boxers are arduously training and they are faring well, our aim is to see the boxers feature in many international boxing tournaments as possible before we shift to an overseas camp,” he said.

He said India and South Africa have brilliant amateur boxers, who may help give the desired experience to the Tanzanian boxers.

According to him, the BFT was targeting to send a record number of boxers to the Commonwealth Games.

He, however, said that would depend on the budget that the government would set.

Tanzania has been given a quota of 26 athletes in the 2018’s Gold Coast Games. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has reduced the number of Tanzanian athletes for next year’s event scheduled for Gold Coast, Australia.

The country fielded 46 competitors in the previous Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland, but the CGF has cut the number of Tanzania’s representatives by almost 50 per cent, according to the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) secretary general, Filbert Bayi.