Kenosi loses as boxing tourney gains pace
Kebone Laetsang | Friday April 26, 2019 11:55
Although Kenosi gave a good account of herself, she ultimately fell short at the hands of the hard-hitting Somali. She however, picked some positives from the loss although overall, she was disappointed to suffer defeat at the first hurdle.
“I do not know what went wrong, as I was energised and confident at the start of the bout,” she said. Kenosi said she has to be smart in her preparations in order to succeed. There were 16 bouts on day two as the competition gained momentum. Fans came in good numbers, which saw highly charged boxers go toe-to-toe.
The competition has brought together 11 countries from across the region. “I will work on my weaknesses, focussing more on defence and speed so that I improve in the next bout,” she said.
Assistant national team coach, Chonga Ntoti said the boxer’s loss did not bother them much as they know her capabilities and strengths.
“This means that we need to do something that will motivate us going forward because we have one goal; that is to box well and get a win, that is why we are all here competing in the championships,” Ntoti said. South Africa’s Thandolwethu Mathiba, in the women’s flyweight (48-51 kg) won 5-0 against Lesotho’s Fusi Seholoholo.
In the women’s bantam category (51-57 kg) Zambia’s Juliana Kasonka became a crowd favourite with her spirited entry into the ring, and she duly delivered when she beat South Africa’s Nomusa Ngema 4-1. Kasonka was unrelenting, landing punches at will and Ngema yielded.
Selected results from Thursday:
Thandolwethu Mathiba (South Africa) beat Fusi Seholoholo (Lesotho) 5-0
Juliana Kasonka (Zambia) beat Nomusa Ngema (South Africa) 4-1
Alcinda Panguana (Mozambique) beat Sinovuyo Gogina (South Africa) 5-0
Andre Liliana (Angola) beat Mapuleng Letsie (Lesotho) 5-0
Aratwa Kasemang (Botswana) beat Felistus Nkando (Zambia) 5-0