Pyrrhic victory for Kenosi against weight as Olympics dream dies
JAPAN,Tokyo 24 July 2021, Keamogetse Sadie Kenosi of Botswana and Karriss Artingestall of Great Britain competing in the Women’s Feather Weight (54-57kg) Round 32 in the Tokyo2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on 24 July 2021. Kenos lost on point to Artingestall . Coach Lechedzani Master Luza interacting with Kenosi during the bout. (Pic:Monirul Bhuiyan/PRESS PHOTO)
30th July 2021
When Keamogetse Kenosi, fondly known as Sadie in the boxing circles made history as the first woman boxer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and the first ever Motswana female boxer to qualify for the Olympics games, some euphoria erupted.
On the 16
th of this month, BoBA sent the Botswana boxing national team to Belgrade, Serbia to compete at the 58
th Belgrade Winner elite men and women tournament.
The week-long tournament, which has attracted boxers from all over the world, will be held from the 22
nd to the 28
Speaking to
The Telegraph Sports, BoBA public relations officer (PRO) Taolo Tloetsile said they have sent three (3) boxers to the tournament.
The three are Rajab Otukile Mahommed, George Molwantwa and Keamogetse Kenosi. For Mahommed and Kenosi, the tournament is part of their preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“We are left with just three months before the Olympics begin and we hope this tournament will help us gauge the fitness of our athletes,” Tlouetsile explained.
Pugilist eyeing an unforgettable Olympic debut
Local pugilist Rajab Otukile Mahommed, 24, says he is excited to have qualified for the upcoming Olympics which will be held this July at Japan, Tokyo.
Due to current challenges of international travel and related restrictions, World Boxing body decided to cancel the Olympic qualifiers events which were slated to take place in the coming months.
They introduced a newly restructured qualification pathway which means boxers will then qualify based on their rankings.
In an interview with Voice Sport this week, Mahommed said he cannot wait for the showdown after qualifying through ranking.
“It was really frightening when it was announced that we are going to qualify through rankings, but I was confident because I had done well in my previous fights,” he said.
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BOBA hoping for four more spots
Botswana Boxing Association (BOBA) have set themselves an ambitious target of securing four more spots at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
As things stand, 23-year-old Keamogetse Kenosi is the only local pugilist certain of a place at the global event.
Indeed, the impressive Francistown fighter was the first African boxer to secure a place at the Olympics following her Gold Medal at the African Qualifiers in Senegal back in February. The history-making DTCB Boxing Club will be the first female to represent Botswana in an Olympic ring an the tenth boxer overall.
Although the country has never had more than two boxers compete at a single Games, BOBA Publicity Secretary, Taolo Tlouetsile revealed the association are targeting a ‘fantastic five’ this time around.