Kenya will now turn their focus to the World Boxing qualification in Paris from May 13-24 to try and secure more slots for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kenya who only got two tickets out of the 33 slots for grabs in Dakar, Senegal during the Africa qualifiers last week, will stand a better chance to secure at least five more tickets in Paris, said head coach Benjamin Musa
“The world qualification event will offer us the opportunity to vie for more slots. It’s still early days though, so finer details on who will be sent to Paris are not decided. But it is a competition we have plans to take part in,” Musa said on Wednesday in Nairobi.
The world qualifiers in Paris in May will have 35 spots up for grabs and will only be open to boxers who have failed at the continental level. Kenya entered 13 boxers in the continental qualifiers and only two made it – Nick Okoth, 37, and Christine Ongare, 26. It leaves room for 11 boxers to travel to Paris in May.
“The journey to Tokyo is still on. We have our boxers ready and with little polish and focus, we will get there,” said Musa.
Kenya won 13 medals in last Games in Rio in 2016 all from athletics. Now Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) president Anthony Otieno says they need to supplement on that tally.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) also said that there will also be five slots up for grabs on wild card basis making a total of 186 boxers qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
“The qualification events represent a fair and transparent pathway to the Olympic Games with equal opportunities for countries,” said Boxing Task Force Chair and IOC Member Morinari Watanabe.
“Everything is being done to provide world-class qualification events and to ensure the best possible conditions for the athletes.”
The qualifying schedule features a strong emphasis on legacy, with all five events hosted by former or future Olympic Games or Youth Olympic Games host cities or countries.
Asia/Oceania was held in Amman, Jordan, after original host Wuhan in China was cancelled owing to threat of Coronavirus.
Other continents held there is Dakar, Senegal for Africa, Europe will be converging in London while Buenos Aires will host Americas qualifiers. Both events are due in March.
Boxing will have 286 athletes in Tokyo being the same number as was the case four years ago in Rio 2016. However, the number of female pugilists has been tripled for Tokyo.
The Tokyo Games will now feature 186 men and 100 women compared to 250 men and 36 women in Rio. Enditem
