Coach Musa hopeful Amina Martha will go all the way in Africa Games

Geoffrey Mwamburi
By Geoffrey Mwamburi March 18, 2024 02:25 (EAT)
Coach Musa hopeful Amina Martha will go all the way in Africa Games

FILES: Kenyan boxer Amina Martha poses for a photo in a past photoshoot session. Photo courtesy of NOC-K Media.

Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

Kenya boxing head coach Benjamin Musa is keeping faith that Amina Martha, the only woman in Team Kenya will go all the way in the Africa Games now on in Accra, Ghana.

Martha qualified to the quarter finals of the 52-54Kgs bantamweight category after defeating Ghana's Apew Sarah, leaving a hopeful Musa praising her agility.

Particularly, coach Musa was happy with the composure Amina kept despite playing against a Ghanian at home.

"She's is a very determined lady with vision and so far I'm impressed on how she has fought. Defeating the host Apew wasn't an easy task and I urge her to stay more focused ahead of the quarter finals."

Musa has however conceded that the boxing fraternity in Kenya is suffering because of the gap left by recently retired experienced boxers, the likes of former captain Nick Okoth.

“It's sad that the old generation is gone without having a smooth transition from the youth level. As stakeholders we are putting measures to ensure we revamp the sport and we will cover all the age groups. The program is well spread and we now have junior boxers from as far as Busia, Vihiga and other counties. By doing so, we will have included every liver of boxing on-board."

Lack of early exposure has been seen as one of the factors hindering the growth of the sport, which the coach underlines.

"More exposure is what we need as the boxing family. A good example is with this tournament whereby we were represented by four boxers including the only lady Amina who is in quarters. We lost the first bout after Nigeria's Adams Laura trashed Peter Abuti in 92kg category. With more exposure, our boxers can improve and we really want this to be the case for the young boxers that we are nurturing.”

Musa explained that African Games are important because it is the only forum, where they can test themselves against African boxers ahead of the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

Join the Discussion

Share your perspective with the Citizen Digital community.

Moderation applies

Sign In to Publish

No comments yet

This discussion is waiting for your voice. Be the first to share your thoughts!