KENYAN FEMALE BOXERS MAKE DEBUT IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The birth of women’s boxing in Kenya in 1986 was followed by a big breakthrough in 2010 when for the first time the national team entered Women’s World Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The team comprised light-flyweight Mildred Atieno, bantamweight Ruth Awuor Odongo, featherweight Lorna Kusa, lightweight Mary Muthoni, light-welterweight Durry Wanjiku, welterweight Nelly Akoth Oluoch aka Sonko Msoto, middleweight Liz Andiego, light-heavyweight Media Muhatia and heavyweight Joselyn Mareh.
Durry Wanjiku, now a coach in Central Kenya, recalls with nostalgia Kenya’s maiden appearance Women’s World Championships in 2010 in Barbados.
Barbados, an independent British Commonwealth country, is an eastern Caribbean Island.
Wanjiku says they were all so excited and looking ahead to their debut in the global women’s boxing extravaganza.
“I remember one of our coaches David Munuhe would minus each day in the calendar,” says Wanjiku.
“We trained at Mathare Police Depot with several coaches, Kawata (Maurice Maina) and John Waweru were the other coaches but it’s only Waweru who travelled with us. Training was tough, we always motivated each other, tunasema hii sio ajua ni blow!.”
While they were all excited to be Kenya’s women boxing pioneers in the World Championships, they also had a feeling of apprehension.
“We had the stage fright also because we were venturing into the unknown. It was both exciting and scary but as boxers we remained confident because in the ring there is only one language, and that’s exchanging blows with your opponent. How best you’ll do it is what matters most.”
All of them except Muthoni lost their fights. Muthoni stopped Grenada’s Toussaint Chloe in the second round and was just one step away from the quarter-finals but lost her next fight to China’s Dong Cheng.
The Chinese progressed to the finals losing to celebrated Irish boxer Katie Taylor who won a total of 18 gold medals in her illustrious amateur career including five consecutive gold medals in the World Championships and an Olympic gold in 2012 before turning pro in 2016.
“We were so proud of Muthoni for winning her fight,” says Wanjiku who was also in the Kenya team which took part in the 2012 World Championships in China, their second appearance in the global boxing event.
In Barbados, Durry Wanjiku lost to Rebecca Price of Wales who stopped the Kenyan boxer in two minutes of the second round.
Other boxers in China were flyweight Christine Ongare, bantamweight Ruth Odongo, featherweight Rebah Matanda, lightweight Mary Muthoni and middleweight Liz Andiego.
Says Wanjiku:”There was a major improvement in China but we were disadvantaged by the scoring system. Boxing has really changed, you can throw many punches but you don’t score. Our coaches in China were John Waweru assisted by Charles Mukula and Albert Matito was the team manager.
“I take this opportunity to wish our team the best of luck in Serbia let them do better than us and have more winners because it’s only Muthoni (Mary) and Christine Ongare who have won in the world championships.”
Kenya is being represented by eight boxers in this year’s World Championships in Serbia. Captain Andiego is making her fifth appearance, bantamweight Amina Martha her third appearance, light-flyweight Veronica Mbithe and featherweight Pauline Chege their second appearance while flyweight Lencer Akinyi, lightweight Emily Juma and light-welterweight Cynthia Mwai are making their maiden appearance as well as representing Kenya for the first time.
“l hope the draw will favour our boxers. At times the draw can be so cruel to inexperienced boxers,” says Wanjiku citing an example of heavyweight Joselyn Mareh in Barbados where she was drawn in her first fight against the eventual gold medallist Russia’s Torlopova Nadezhda.
“lt’s so unfair for a newcomer to be drawn against an established boxer. IBA should introduce a seeding system to have the best boxers fight each other first,” says Wanjiku who represented Kenya from 2010 to 2012 and started boxing at Jericho Social Hall at the age of six years.
On why boxers from Europe, Asia and Americas are doing better than African boxers, Wanjiku says:” They’re well exposed constantly, better facilities and also motivated through financial rewards. We lack several things among them exposure and a strong financial base.
“Being a boxer in Kenya is not for the faint-hearted. In Kenya most boxers live from hand to mouth. In my case when l was in Mombasa l woke up at 4am for my morning run and then back at 6am. l sleep for 45 minutes and wake up to start my business of hawking clothes in town.
“In the evening hungry and tired, l’m at Mwanandondi Boxing Club for training under coach Lemmy Katibi we know him better as Cobra. Then there’s rent to pay so at times even concentrating during sparring is difficult.”
Most sparring sessions in Kenya, Wanjiku says, are total war.
“You go home injured with no money to treat yourself. You wonder whether to cry, eat, sleep or wash your heap of clothes and in the morning you have to wake up early for roadwork. What pushed some of us was hope for a better future.”
Photos by Duncun Kuria
