Hit Squad out to draw blood in Russia ahead of Olympics

National boxing team Hit Squad is scheduled to leave the country on Saturday evening for Russia where the four Olympics-bound boxers will face European competition, among others, as they heighten their preparations for the Summer Games. 

The Konstantin Korotkov Memorial Boxers' Cup will be held from May 10 to 18 in the city of Khabarovsk at Lenina Regional Sports Complex Stadium. 

Hit Squad members preparing for Olympics, captain Nick Okoth (Feather), Elly Ajowi (Heavy), Christine Ongare (Fly) and Elizabeth Akinyi (Welter) will face top boxers from European Confederation who have also qualified for the Olympics. 

"We know this will be a tough outing as there are European boxers to compete with but the team has prepared for this. After the Africa Zone Three competition, we had a review of the performance for each boxer and have been working on getting better and correcting our mistakes. While we are targeting medals from Russia, our mission is to gauge ourselves against some of the best pugilists ahead of the Olympics," assistant coach David Munuhe explained. 

"This is an open tournament so for now we do not know which boxers or countries will be in Russia. However, I can confirm that Morocco will be fielding their boxers too. The rest could be from the European countries. We leave on Saturday, arrive the following day and start our competition on Monday," he added.

The tactician adds that the break that the team took, occasioned by the presidential directive to suspend sporting activities in March, will do little to affect their performance. 

"The break was short as we were given the go ahead to train, just like other Olympics teams, shortly after the directive. Additionally, the boxers kept busy on their own during the break do they should be in good form," Munuhe added.