NBF scribe assures on Olympic qualifiers

Ifeanyi Eduzor

Secretary General of Nigeria Boxing
Federation, Dapo Akinyele has expressed optimism that the country’s boxers to next week’s African Olympic qualifiers in Senegal will not disappoint.
The boxers have been in camp at the Brai Ayenote Boxing Gym, Lagos and the six female and three male pugilists will be departing for Dakar, Senegal early next week and Akinyele believes that the training they have undergone under the watchful eyes of Coach Tony Konyegwachie will come to bear when hostilities begins in Senegal.
According to him, the just concluded African championship which the fighters took part in Cameroon served as a dress rehearsal for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers.
He explained that the Federation focused more on women fighters because they stand more chance to qualify since only the champion in any of the weight categories for the men will qualify while the two finalists in each of the women category, qualifies for the Olympics.
“I’m very hopeful that we are going to pick some of the tickets because in the 92 kg, Adams Olaore is the African champion and we’re hopeful he’ll pick the ticket while in the female category two of our athletes based in the United Kingdom are gold and silver medalists and we’re banking on those two to qualify. Even the lady that won silver for us in the 75 kg, Mbata Patricia, fought the champion to a standstill and the girl she lost to at that finals is likely going to be the one she will face.
Although people are looking forward to the same lady winning the weight category but the fight can go either way . So we’re quite sure, she will qualify.
” Apart from those I mentioned, we’re hopeful of getting more qualifiers because sports is not mathematics and anything can happen in the ring.

Akinyele further explained that the Federation is taking the qualifiers serious because having failed to take part in qualifiers for last Olympics, the Federation’s President Gen. Kenneth Mininah ( rtd) made sure that noting was left to chance in Nigeria taking part in this particular qualifiers
“You’re aware that Nigeria didn’t participate in the qualifiers for the last Olympics and that’s why the President of the Federation made sure that this time around, there are no excuses.
” Although, there is a final qualifiers after this but that one will be very difficult since it will involve boxers from all over the world who couldn’t qualify from their continent and that’s why we are taking the this particular qualifiers serious”, he concluded.