DR CONGO LAND 14 IN FINALS, KENYA 7, UGANDA 5 AND TANZANIA 3
▪️ More boxers will qualify for the finals in today’s tension-charged semi-finals with Kenya having 13 boxers, Tanzania 8, Uganda 7, DR Congo 6, Cameroon, Gabon and Ethiopia two each
Defending champions DR Congo have taken an early lead landing 14 boxers – seven male and female apiece – in the finals of the Africa Zone 3 Championships which enter the penultimate stage in today’s 20 semi-final bouts at the Kasarani Gym, Nairobi.
The 14 DR Congo boxers in the finals are:
Men
Minimumweight: Mayala Tsimba
Bantamweight: Kalongo Bakora
Lightweight: Kitangila Mweba
Welterweight: Kabengela Ntumba
Middleweight: Kinda Wetu
Cruiserweight: Matete Kankonde
Super-heavyweight: Emo Mukwasa
Women
Minimumweight: Diyoka Benedicte
Flyweight: Nyembo Gisele
Featherweight: Phoba Kerene
Light-middleweight: Muleketsi Nsii
Middleweight: Mwamba Lulua
Light-heavyweight: Malewa Tekasala
Heavyweight: Tshimwanga Kande
Today, DR Congo has six boxers in the semi-finals:
female bantamweight: Bisambu Bawo, female light-welterweight Mbalayi Mbamba, heavyweight Mbangi Mukiewa, female featherweight Zalia Munga, light-welterweight Njibu Njibu and light-heavyweight Nlandu Mbeli.
The six Kenyan boxers in the finals so far:
Minimumweight: Silus Onyango
Flyweight: Faith “Fekete” Nafula
Lightweight: Emily “Ring Princess” Juma
Light-middleweight: Friza “Smiling Assasin” Asiko
Middleweight: Liz Andiego
Cruiserweight: Chris Ochanda
The five Ugandan boxers in the finals:
Featherweight: Fatuma “The Thunder” Nabikolo
Bantamweight: Ochien Samuel
Welterweight: Emily Nakalema
Welterweight: Edward Mukwaya
Middleweight: Ojok Alfred
Tanzania’s three boxes in the finals:
Lightweight:Ezra Paul
Welterweight: Salma Yahya
Heavyweight: Veronica Ebron
In today’s semi-finals, Tanzania has eight boxers namely:
light-flyweight Aisha Idd Issa vs Uganda’s Brenda Muduwa bantamweight Zulfa Macho vs DRC’s Bisambo Bawo, light-middleweight Kasim Mbundwike vs Kenya’s Alvin Oduor, lightweight Vumilia Twalibu vs DRC’s Munga Zalia, light-heavyweight Rachel Msengi vs Kenya’s Lorna Kusa, flyweight Azizi Waziri vs Cameroon’s Issouhou Mouhaman, light-welterweight King Lucas vs Uganda’s Maniloba Falahat and Yusuf Changalawe vs Cameroon’s Fotouo Totap Jr.
Kenya’s has 13 boxers in the semi-finals today:
bantamweight Amina Martha vs Ethiopia’s Roman Assefa Abate, light-welterweight Cynthia Mwai vs Uganda’s Erina Namutebi, featherweight Paul Omondi vs Uganda’s Kasim Murungi, featherweight Mwinyi Kombo vs Ethiopia’s Fitwi Tumay, light-middleweight Boniface vs Uganda’s Kanabi Alex, light-middleweight Alvin Oduor vs Tanzania’s Kasim Mbundwike, heavyweight Peter Abuti vs Gabon’s Njinniu Moundat, light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe vs Lencer Akinyi in an all-Kenyan affair, light-heavyweight Lorna Kusa vs Tanzania’s Rachel Peter Msengi, Diouf Muimi vs Uganda’s Matovu Livingstone, light-welterweight Caleb Wandera vs DRC’s Njibu Njibu and heavyweight Humphrey Ochieng vs DRC’s Nlandu Mbeli.
The five Kenyan bronze medallists having lost their bouts in the semis on Tuesday, October 21: minimumweight Abednego Kyalo, middleweight Edwin Okong’o, super-heavyweight Clinton Macharia, minimumweight Jane Wangare and welterweight Wiseman Kavondo.
Uganda’s seven boxers in today’s semis:
light-flyweight Brenda Muduwa, flyweight Matovu Livingstone, featherweight Kasim Murungi, light-welterweight Manilola Farahat, heavyweight Abdul Aziz Ringo, light-middleweight Kanabi Alex and female light-welterweight Erina Namutebi.
Meanwhile Cameroon’s head coach Alain Didier Ngatcha and the President of the Rwanda Boxing Federation Bashir Ntwari have expressed their disappointment on what they have described as questionable officiating in some bouts involving their boxers.
Ngatcha was not amused by the third round stoppage of the cruiserweight bout involving his boxer, Baguiguana Georges against Kenya’s Chris Ochanda.
Says Ngatcha: “I am very disappointed by the officials and especially by the refereeing. There are important battles that should not be entrusted to trainees.
My boxer largely dominated the first 2 rounds and at the start of the third round after just one count he stopped the fight. Even though my boxer was no longer in difficulty. The stoppage was not justified.”
Ngatcha also wondered how his minimumweight Africa champion Wouang Martial lost to DR Congo’s Mayala Tsimba. The fight was stopped in the second round after Tsimba sustained a cut above his right eye, and was declared the winner because he was leading on points at the time the bout was stopped.
“In the Wouang fight,” says Ngatcha, “my boxer, with a clean and precise punch at the start of the first round injured his opponent. The doctor stopped the fight and we asked the judges to decide who was the winner? I think unless I am wrong or if the regulations have changed that it is from the second round that we apply this point of the regulations. And even, until then it was my boxer who dominated the fight.”
On his part, Ntwari says the 5-0 points loss of his bantamweight Iranezeza Aime to Uganda’s Ochien Samuel.
“We feel very let down and discouraged to participate in such events in the future,” says Ntwari, adding:”A little bad decision here and there is expected but to give our boy a 5-0 defeat after dominating his opponent is beyond disappointing. We thank them for the experience but we can’t participate in dubious events where the refeering decisions were the talk of the event rather than fantastic boxing.”
