'Hit Squad' return home with zero medals after poor show in Istanbul

Kenya will have to wait for next year to launch another charge for medals in the International Boxing Association Women’s World Championship after a horrific show in this year’s edition in Istanbul, Turkey where they won  zero medals.

Since the inception of the tournament in 2001, Kenya has never earned a podium finish, and this was the case Monday evening when Kenya's light-heavyweight boxer Elizabeth Andiego lost on points to Turkey's Elif Guner to ensure that Kenya bowed out empty-handed.

Guner staged a clever fight against a determined Andiego, the last Kenyan to be eliminated in the tournament that has been ongoing at the Başakşehir Youth and Sports Facility since May 8.

The team of five judges awarded Guneri a 5-0 score to reflect her performance in the three round 75-81kg weight bout in which the 35-year-old Andiego appeared determined in the first round but Guneri controlled the subsequent rounds to win.

Apart from Andiego, other Kenyan pugilist were; Africa Zone 3 silver medalist Christine Ongare who was eliminated by Ukraine’s Okhota Hanna, Stacy Ayuma who lost to Democratic Republic of Congo’s Joceylin Tshamala, while Amina Martha fell to Poland’s Wiktoria Rogalinska at the preliminary round in their bantamweight bout while Evelyn Akinyi lost her welterweight fight to Moreira Ivanusa.

Light middleweight boxer Lorna Kusa was eliminated by Kazakhstan’s Khalzova Valentine in round of 32 bout, while Ann Wanjiru lost the flyweight bout to Tetyana Kob of Ukraine joining middleweight Elizabeth Akinyi, featherweight Beatrice Akoth and Teresia Wanjiru respectively.

The tournament which ends on Friday attracted 310 boxers from 72 countries together with the IBA Fair Chance Team but Belarusian and Russian boxers were not allowed to compete at the event after a ban as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.