Eight boxers to represent Kenya in upcoming IBA Women's World Championships
Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 28.02.25. | 16:50
The team will be skippered by multiple African Championships silver medalist Elizabeth Andiego
Eight ladies will represent the country in the upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia from 8 -16 March 2025.
The team, under head coach Musa Benjamin, has been in non-residential training camp at Mathare Depot for the last three weeks, and is all but ready to fly Kenya’s flag at the global championship for the fifth time since its inception.
Kenya featured recently at the 2023 edition in New Delhi, India, where Hit Squad struggled to get its boxers past the first round.
Only Christine Ongare, who suffered a second round stoppage, and Elizabeth Andiego (bye), got past the first day of action.
Multiple African silver-medalist Andiego will hope her vast experience plays a key role this year, and she will lead the team as captain.
She will take part in her usual light-heavyweight category, and will be flanked by Africa Games bronze medalist Amina Martha, who fights at bantamweight.
Africa Military Games champion Friza Anyango is also in the mix at welterweight, as is featherweight Pauline Chege, who makes a return to the global stage having made her debut in Delhi two years ago.
African Military Games silver medalist Veronica Mbithe also makes a return to the national team at light flyweight, as Lencer Akinyi features in the flyweight category.
Making her debut in the national team is rookie Cynthia Mwai, who will be fighting at featherweight.
Mwai, hailing from Nyandarua, notably showed her skills in the 2023 BFK National Novices, when she produced a first round stop on her opponent Murugi Ndung’u from Kajiado.
The squad is still to get a confirmation from the Ministry on when their flight will be, but Benjamin remains confident that the team will travel on time to the championships.
In recent years - particularly in 2023 - Hit Squad, owing to travelling delays, arrived on the first day of the championships, a factor that the Kenyan officials believe impedes their progress.
This year’s championships offer a juicy prize purse: Gold medallists will receive $100,000 USD (Ksh. 12,914,000), with silver medallists winning $50,000 (Ksh. 6,457,000), and bronze taking home $25,000 (Ksh. 3,228,500).
For the first time in the tournament’s history, all quarter-finalists will receive $10,000 (Ksh. 1,291,400).
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