Boxing team leaves for international training camp

The Botswana national boxing team athlets have once again proven that they are a dominant force in the region after defending their Zone IV championship in Mozambique over the weekend.

However, the battle has just begun for the talented nine-athlete strong team. The team, which consists of six men and three women, will now focus on qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The all-conquering squad, which arrived home earlier this week will not be taking any break as the pugilists will now move on to an international training camp that includes stop overs in Morocco, France and Kazakhstan later this month.

However, there is a place for only three boxers - two men and one woman – who will add to the numbers in the 2016 Botswana Olympic team. After the international training camp, Team Botswana will face a stiff test at the 2016 Olympic qualifiers scheduled for Cameroon in March.

Botswana was in sheer dominance in Maputo, with power-punching welterweight (69kg) Lentswe Zwinila defeating Lorenzo Cossa of Mozambique 3-0 while 75kg contender Zibani Chikanda dominated Snamiso Nutu.

In addition, local pugilist wonder kid Kabelo Bagwasi not only outclassed Paulo Jorge of Mozambique at lightweight (60 kg) but was also crowned boxer of the tournament. Marshall Mokgwaela won his 52kg bout against a South African opponent.

Meanwhile, both Otukile Mahommed and Kutlwano Ogaketse lost their bouts while in the women’s category, Koketso Dipogiso beat SA’s Bathabile Zigubu. Keamogetse Kenosi and Keneilwe Rakhudu lost their bouts.

In an interview this week, Botswana Boxing Association’s (BoBA) spokesperson Kenny Maragana said the team gave a stellar performance at the Zone IV showdown.

However, he added that the bus trip to Mozambique was not without any challenges as the team experienced a breakdown in SA en-route to Gaborone. Johannes Ditlhabang coaches the men’s team while the women’s team is under Thebe Setlalekgosi.