This archive report was first published on 10 November 2021.
Published on November 10, 2021, the Jamal Cup, a highly anticipated boxing tournament, has been postponed to next week (November 17-20) at Nyayo Stadium.
The tournament, originally scheduled for this week, was postponed to allow the men's team who participated in the global championships in Serbia time to prepare for their next assignment.
The Jamal Cup is a crucial selection tournament for female boxers to represent Kenya in the World Women Boxing Championships scheduled for December in Istanbul, Turkey.
Top contenders for the tournament include Olympians and Commonwealth Games flyweight bronze medallist Christine Ongare and national welterweight champion Elizabeth Akinyi, both members of 'The Hit Squad' who featured in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Other notable boxers participating in the tournament are lightweight champion Everlyn Akinyi, bantamweight Beatrice Akoth, and Veronica Mbithe of the Kenya Defence Forces.
According to Boxing Federation of Kenya Secretary General David Munuhe, Kenya intends to send a full squad of 13 female boxers for the global championships.
"We intend to perform better in order to win the hearts of the national coaches and be selected into the squad for the global championships," said national welterweight champion Elizabeth Akinyi.
"It will not be easy but we are equal to the task of getting another chance to represent the country in another senior global tournament," said Ongare.
