Duo defiant as boxing team crumbles in Congo
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday June 27, 2017 15:40
Aratwa scooped a bronze medal in the women’s 64kg category while Otukile brought home a silver medal from the men’s 52kg category.
Otukile, the Mafika Boxing Club member, settled for silver after losing the final 3-0 to Flissi Mohammed of Algeria.
The boxer has never looked back since being picked for the Gaborone 2014 Youth Games. He proceeded to represent Botswana at the Samoa 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games.
Otukile was unlucky during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers where he failed to make the team, losing on technicality.
Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) public relations officer, Kenny Maragana told Mmegi Sport that Otukile has always shown potential. He said as a young person, he has a bright future in the sport.
Aratwa proved herself at the UB Tsholofelo Boxing Club which led her to being noticed by the national team coaches. She won a silver medal at the 2016 National Boxing Championships.
Aratwa made the team that competed at the Region IV Championships, although the competition failed to take place early this year.
One of the boxers who travelled to Congo as a medal favourite, Zibani Chikanda had a bad tournament as he lost through a technical knockout against an opponent from the host country.
“We did not set a target for the team and bringing two medals is an indication that something was done well. The major huddle we have is Arabic countries. They are always giving us a torrid time. Arabic countries are nearer to Europe and they travel there for training camps,” Maragana said.
He said Botswana is always doing well in the region but the Africa Championships remain a challenge.