Coronavirus: Ugandan boxing ref misses chance

BOXING

The coronavirus outbreak in China has forced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Boxing Taskforce to cancel the Asia and Oceania qualification championship to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that was due to run from February 1-14 in Wuhan City in Hubei Province.

Uganda is one country that has lost out on the Asia and Oceania qualifier as AIBA referee and judge Steven Aciga Fula (pictured left) was to officiate at the Wuhan event.

He was due to leave the country on January 31.

William Blick, a member of the taskforce, has confirmed the development.

"With advice and recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO), we have cancelled the championship (...) We are still looking for another venue that we shall announce in two weeks," Blick said on phone.

But other continental qualification events are still intact and team Uganda is training to participate in the African qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal.

Wuhan is considered the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has set the whole world in a state of panic since December last year when it was first identified.

It is understood that the Asia and Oceania qualification championship has been transferred to Jordan, which has volunteered to host at short notice from March 3-11.

"I have not travelled to China. The IOC Boxing Taskforce chairman, Morinari Watanabe, sent me a communication that the event has been canceled and I was also stripped from the tentative Jordan event because fewer officials will be used," said Aciga.

The China event had attracted teams from 42 countries to use two rings, meaning a big number of referees and judges would be required.

But Aciga said he still stands a chance to officiate at the European qualifiers in London due March 11-24 and also in Buenos Aires in Argentina for the American qualifiers from March 22 to April 4.

"I had been slated for three qualification events. I now wait for the London and Argentina events," he said.

Aciga is an experienced referee and judge who clinched the AIBA status of level 3 in 2017.

Referee Steven Tulibagenyi missed out on an assignment in Cameroon

 
In another development, Steven Tulibagenyi, an AIBA Star 2 referee and judge, failed to enter Cameroon to officiate at the AIBA Continental Championships that started on Saturday in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Ugnada Boxing Federation president Moses Muhangi said Tulibagenyi was denied entry due to miscoordination involving the local organizing committee in Cameroon that failed to accredit him.