UBF faces selection dilemma for Olympic qualifiers

Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) is worried that they may end up starting from zero to lift the confidence and form of boxers in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

UBF president Moses Muhangi says that the nationwide lockdown which has affected sports is likely to have taken away the determination among boxers and it will create selection challenges when it comes to the team that will compete in the final round of the Olympic qualifiers expected to be held in May 2021 in Paris, France.

Earlier, UBF had selected six boxers to compete in the final round of the qualifiers that had been scheduled for May this year before the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The players are Isaac Masembe (featherweight), Yasin Adinan (lightweight), David Semujju (middleweight), Alex Bwambale (heavyweight), Catherine Nanziri (flyweight), and Emilly Nakalema (welterweight).

The six had been selected based on their performance at February's Africa Olympic qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal.

However, if the six don't meet the required standards needed to be on the national team, UBF is likely to organise trials when the suspension on the sports sector is lifted so as to get the best boxers to compete.

"The performance of our boxers on the national team at the moment might be worrying since they have taken long without competing. We are going to call them into camp when the sports sector is opened. Depending on their fitness in the camp, it will give us a clear picture of whether we organise trials or not.

The purpose of the federation is not to take a boxer because he has a name but to take a boxer who is fit and is the best in that weight category and in that particular time. We are looking for a boxer who is going to win us medals," stated Muhangi.

Since there has been no competition for a long period, Muhangi expects to contact the National Council of Sports (NCS) so as to increase the number of the boxers to take part in the final round of the qualifiers since the target is to have more than four boxers at the Olympics.

"If all goes well we want to have a delegation of 25 people including 12 boxers, coaches, and officials that will represent us in the final qualifiers for the Olympics. But remember we have to spend on their allowances and accommodation among others. So we have to agree with NCS if they can meet the budget if we are to consider our plan. If NCS can support the entire team, then we will be grateful," he added.

The captain of the boxing national team, Shadir Musa, is so far the only boxer that has qualified for the Olympics, a feat he achieved at the Africa Olympic Qualifiers in Senegal.

The Tokyo Olympics had been scheduled to begin on July 24 till August 9th before they were postponed due to the pandemic.

Its 17 years since the national boxing team, The Bombers, had five players punching their way to the Olympics.

At the time, the country's golden boy Jolly Katongole, Sadat Tebazaalwa, Sam Rukundo, Brian Mayanja, and Joseph Lubega qualified for the games via the first and second AIBA Africa Olympic boxing qualifiers in Casablanca and Gaborone respectively.