Hostile environment blamed for boxers failure
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday March 22, 2016 14:00
She said the judges were biased and that led to some boxers being cheated. She said in one instance, the army was called in to restore order when many countries were complaining. Ntelamo said accommodation and food were not up to standard. She said countries were not allowed to protest under the new Africa Confederation Boxing Association (AIBA) rules. She said although they are expected to respect judges decisions, the officials should do the right thing.
National team coach, Thebe Setlalekgosi said preparations for the qualifiers were not enough due to lack of funds. The preparations needed more time and boxers should have gone for international training camps. Despite that, Setlalekgosi said the boxers gave their best performances ever.
The Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) president, Patlakwe Patlakwe said it was the first time in the history of boxing that they failed to book an Olympic slot. He said with funds permitting, boxers would be given a chance to try to qualify in June. The qualifiers will be held in Uzbekistan.
“We need to shift focus to development. We have to start preparing for the next Olympics. We should work hard to produce quality boxers,” said Patlakwe.
BNOC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said they did not expect immediate results especially from Mohammed Otukile (49kg), Koketso Dipogiso (51kg) and Keamogetse Kenosi (60kg).
He said they would have a discussion with BoBA on whether to send boxers to Uzbekistan or not. He said that could happen if there was enough money.
Other team members were Zibani Chikanda (75kg), Kabelo Bagwasi (60kg), Kagiso Bagwasi (64kg) and Lentswe Zwinila (69kg).