Six boxers picked to participate in olympic qualifiers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Olympic Committee- UOC has selected six boxers to take part in the upcoming Boxing Olympic Qualifier in Dakar, Senegal 2023.

The six boxers include bomber captain Joshua Tukamuhebwa (63kgs), Jonathan Kyobe (57kgs), Isaac Zebra Ssenyange (71kgs), Grace Nakinga (50kgs), Shafik Mawanda (51kgs), and former Olympian Shadir Musa Bwogi (80kgs).

The list signed by UOC Secretary General Beatrice Ayikoru comes five days after UOC had previoulsy omitted Bwogi and included Idrisa Mukiibi, who was later removed upon confirming his lack of interest.

For nearly two weeks, the Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) has been embroiled in a dispute with the National Olympic Committee over the allocation of slots for the country’s boxers. UBF has accused the Olympics of disregarding their recommendations and including boxers whose recent performance and form could not be vouched for by UBF.

The differencies came after the Uganda Olympic Committee released a list of nine athletes that will start late preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics due next month in Dakar, Senegal.

The list in question notably reintroduced former accomplished pugilists, including Shadir Musa Bwogi and his counterpart David Semujju.

Both athletes had competed in the previous iteration of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, a decision that the present Boxing Federation President, Moses Muhangi, found himself at odds with.

These two pugilists had recently severed ties with the Uganda Boxing Federation, expressing their discontent with what they perceived as inequitable contracts linked to participation in the Boxing Champions League. Subsequently, they ventured into the realm of Professional Boxing.

However, by stipulated regulations, their eligibility to represent the national team remains intact, given they haven’t engaged in more than ten professional bouts, but Muhangi contended that this was against their advice.

He argued that these two boxers had not been under the local boxing Federation’s monitoring since their transition to the professional ranks.

Faced with this backdrop, Muhangi chose not to accompany the team and relinquished his role as the Bombers team manager to the Boxing Federation Secretary General, Simon Barigo.

According to UOC, the team will camp at Kavumba Recreation Center starting Friday and will depart on Wednesday 6th September 2023.

“I think we should be wishing a team all the best for now” briefly commented on the selected team of six boxers.

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URN