Kenyan boxers punch off in Morocco

Gilbert Kiprotich in Rabat, Morocco

Kenyan boxers Evelyn Akinyi and Edwin Okongo will be in action today as preliminary boxing matches punch off  at  the 12th edition of African Games at the Al Amal Indoor Sports Centre here in Rabat, Morocco.

Akinyi who hails from Kisumu County will be the first Kenyan to enter the ring at 4pm Kenyan time to exchange punches with Moulahi Khouloud of Tunisia in the women’s lightweight category (60kg).

Thereafter, Okongo will enter the ring to face off with Zambia’s Kaonga Mbachi in the men’s light heavyweight (85kg) bout scheduled for 6pm Kenyan time with a total of 26 bouts scheduled today.

In the draw done yesterday, other Kenyans however got byes (direct qualification) to quarter finals including the 2015 African Games bronze medalist Elly Ajowi in heavy weight (91kg) while Boniface Mogunde is through to quarters in Welterweight (69kg).

Others are Hassan Shaffi Bakari in flyweight (52kg), Ethan Maina in lightweight (63kg), Goerge Ouma in middleweight (75kg) as well as Fredrick Otieno Ramogi in the in the superheavyweight  category(+91kg).

In the women category, Lorna Kusa will be challenging for honours in welterweight (60kg), and Christine Ongare flyweight (51kg).They have also stormed to the last eight.

Kenya’s team ‘Hit Squad’ is made of 12 boxers; eight men and four women in this year’s tournament.

In the 2015 tournament held in Congo, Brazzaville, Kenya bagged two bronze medals through Ajowi and Nick Okoth in Lightweight (60kg).