Five Nigerian pugilists storm African Championships finals

Five Nigerian boxers have stormed into the finals of the African Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, keeping the country’s hopes of multiple gold medals alive.

The finalists are Ridwan Raheem, Ajishola Khadijat, Precious Anine, Blessing Orakwe and Patricia Mbata. Their progress is a turnaround for Nigeria’s 10-member contingent, which lost five bouts in the early stages of the tournament.

Sunday was particularly harsh for the team. Aishat Gbadamosi, Abdulramon Abdulwahab, Emmanuel Chuwuka and Kenneth Anigboro lost to opponents from Algeria, Egypt, Kenya and Uganda respectively.

Some of the decisions drew complaints from spectators and raised questions about officiating.

Raheem began the revival on Monday by beating Algeria’s Ismail Bekhsis in the men’s 60-65kg category. Before the bout, he said he would win convincingly to leave no room for “any kind of controversial decision”.

On Tuesday, Khadijat beat Kenya’s Amina Martha 5-0 in Bout 41 of the women’s 51-54kg category. Fighting from the blue corner, she won the verdict of all five judges.

Anine followed with another 5-0 win over Egypt’s Ayyad Yomna in Bout 45 of the women’s 60-65kg semi-final. Orakwe then stopped Uganda’s Aiwine Diana in the first round in Bout 47 of the women’s 75-80kg category.

Mbata had already qualified for the final stage.

The Nigeria Boxing Federation board member and Head of Delegation, Capt. Rasulun Kashim, had earlier expressed confidence that the boxers had the talent and determination to compete with their continental rivals.

The focus now shifts to converting five final appearances into gold.

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