Kenya off to a slow start at IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

Emily Juma was defeated by Slovakia’s Miroslava Jedinakova, ending her run before the quarterfinals. Cynthia Mwai’s bout ended early after Mexico’s Miriam Hernandez Gonzalez forced a referee’s stoppage with an impressive performance.

Russian Karina Tazabekova delivered a dominant, unanimous victory over Amina Faki. At the same time, Slovakia’s Tamara Kubalova outclassed Friza Anyango, adding to Kenya’s woes after Veronica Mbithe became the first casualty on day one of the championship.

China’s Wang Xiaomeng also secured a unanimous decision win against Kazakhstan’s Gulsaya Yerzhan, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Kenya’s remaining hope, Elizabeth Andiego.

Other Kenyans to get to the ring to try to qualify for the quarterfinals are Lencer Akinyi

And Pauline Chege, who got to the round of 16 without throwing a punch after getting byes from the last round.

Reaching the quarterfinals guarantees boxers $10,000 (Ksh1.3 million), with even bigger rewards for medalists: $100,000 (Ksh13 million) for gold, $50,000 (Ksh6.5 million) for silver, and $25,000 (Ksh3.2 million) for bronze.

Kenya now pins its hopes on Andiego to break the losing streak and secure both a spot in the semis and a piece of the lucrative prize pool.