Kenya struggles in boxing, table tennis at African Games

Gilbert Kiprotich in Rabat, Morocco

Kenyan pugilists Everlin Akinyi and Edwin Okongo were eliminated from the African Games in the preliminary round as boxing kicked off on Wednesday at the Al Amal Indoor Sports Centre in Rabat.

Akinyi was the first Kenyan to enter ring in the 12th bout and went down 5-0 to Moulahi Khouloud of Tunisia in the women’s Light Welterweight (60kg).

Later on, Okongo was eliminated by the same scores by Zambia’s Kaonga Mbachi in the men’s Light Heavyweight (81kg). Okongo struggled to cope with Mbachi in the first round but slowly grew in to the match but despite a spirited fight he showed in the second and third rounds of the match it was not enough to take him through to the last eight.

Akinyi who was making her international debut looked tense from the onset of the match and Kenya’s head coach Benjamin Moses was quick to note the duo’s inexperience as their greatest undoing in the match.

“It was Akinyi’s first match representing the country while for Okongo he is also not so experience but he lost it in the first round when he failed to follow our game plan,” observed Moses.

Despite the loss, Moses is still banking on other remaining boxers to bag medals for the country with the 2015 Games bronze medalist Nick Okoth set to step to the ring today against Iyanga Moliko of Equatorial Guinea in the men’s Featherweight (57kg).

“Okoth has been there and has a lot of experience in these games so I am very optimistic that he will proceed same case with Cosby (George Ouma),” said Moses.

Ouma will be taking on Togo’s John Koudeha in Middleweight (75kg) in bout nine of the second session.

It was a bad start also for Kenya in Table Tennis as both the men and women teams lost each of their two fixtures of the day.

The trio of Kennedy Kojal, Josiah Wandera and Brian Mutua lost 3-0 to both Nigeria and Madagascar in the men’s doubles while Dorren Juma, Pamela Akeel and Lydia Setey also lost by similar scores to Egypt and host Morocco.