BAK beefs up ‘Hit Squad’ technical bench with American coach

In a bid to boost the performance of the team at the Commonwealth Games slated for April 4-15 in Gold Coast, Australia, the Boxing Association of Kenya has hired a new coach from the USA to train the national boxing team ahead of the competitions.

The new coach, Hanif Abdullah, will work closely with the ‘Hit Squad’ coaches as the boxers aim to boost their strength and endurance skills ahead of the Australian assignment.

Kenya will send a team of 11 boxers; seven men and four women in the competitions and the association is leaving nothing to chance.

During the recently held India Open Games, an invitational tournament held in New Delhi, Kenya’s 24 boxers failed to shine, with all of them bowing out before the quarterfinals and the association wants to improve on these weak areas before they board the plane for the Commonwealth Games.

“We observed that strength was our main flaw from the previous games in India and with Hanif on board, I’m sure the performance will change,” BAK chair John Kameta told Citizen Digital.

At the same time, the team will be heading to a residential camp in Nakuru and later to Cuba for a three- weeks intense training before proceeding to the Commonwealth Games.

“We have chosen Madison Square Garden in Nakuru to be our residential camp for a week because their facilities are good, the altitude and the weather is also favourable. We will later proceed to a three-week training in Cuba before heading directly to Gold Coast for the games,” Kameta said.

In the meantime, the boxing boss is expected to meet the new Sports CS Rashid Achesa to discuss the finances needed to send the team to Cuba.

Kameta said that lack of playing kits and equipment is a major setback for the players’ training and is calling on the government to step in.