Windhoek
Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Agnes Tjongarero showered her blessings yesterday upon a group of boxers that will represent Namibia at the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers in Yaounde, Cameroon, from March 11-19.
A delegation consisting of seven boxers and a few officials from the Namibia Boxing Federation yesterday paid Tjongarero a courtesy call, where they briefed the minister on how well the boxers have prepared for the competition, which will serve as the last qualification tournament for African pugilists that are yet to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In her short, but well-calculated motivational speech Tjongarero urged the seven boxers to aim high and strive to perform to the best of their abilities, while patriotically flying the country’s flag high.
While expressing satisfaction with the news of the boxers’ overall preparation, Tjongarero also urged them to try and win fights convincingly, preferably in the first two rounds, rather than waiting for the judges to give them a win, which might not necessarily be the case – as it is always difficult winning outside your home country.
Team manager and NBF secretary general Memory Manasse assured the nation at large that the boxers are ready to deliver the desired results, as they conducted a great training camp under the guidance of veteran boxing mentor Mistake Gariseb and Mathias Ndilukwa.
“We expect them all to do well, because our aim is to see them all qualify for the Olympics. The funding issue has also been resolved, meaning that all boxers are now good to go and proudly represent the country,” Manasse said.
Previously, only three boxers were fully funded by the Namibia National Olympic Committee to represent the country in Yaounde. They are Junias Jonas Jonas, Mathias Hamunyela and Lazarus Shaningwa. The latest to be funded are Abel Mikasiu, Lubben Kandimba, Fillipus Nghitumbwa and Ruben Kandimba.
Jonas and Hamunyela won silver medals at the All Africa Games in Congo, Brazzaville in September last year.