Musa Benjamin cautious as Hit Squad depart for IBA Women's World Championships
Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 07.03.25. | 13:28
This year's team has three rookies - Lencer Akinyi, Emily Juma and Cynthia Mwai
Kenya national boxing team head coach Musa Benjamin says he is under no illusions that the upcoming 2025 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships will be a walk in the park, even as the squad of eight left the country for Niš, Serbia on Thursday night.
After initial concerns about when the team would travel, Musa and his squad left the country for Serbia via Dubai last night, confirming their arrival would come before the competition begins from 9-16 March.
🥊 The National Women's Boxing Team departs tomorrow for the 2025 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia, kicking off on March 5! 🇰🇪🔥
— TeamKenya (@OlympicsKe) March 4, 2025
Head Coach Benjamin Musa: “The competition will be intense, but our boxers are driven by a shared goal—winning medals and… pic.twitter.com/fGn6v12sYb
The technical meeting and official draw of the tournament will be conducted on Saturday 8 March, when the Kenyan girls will learn of their opponents.
The squad, led by skipper Elizabeth Andiego, will seek to improve on their record in the 2023 championships, where just two boxers managed to get out of the first round.
On the current team’s prospect, Musa told Mozzart Sport before departure: “We cannot cheat ourselves in this World Championships, which are even tougher than the Olympics.
“We are under no illusion that it will be a walk in the park and are alive of what is ahead of us.”
Though carrying the experience of two-time Africa silver medalist Andiego, the 2025 team consists of three rookies, including: flyweight Lencer Akinyi, light welterweight Cynthia Mwai, and lightweight Emily Juma.
On what to expect from the trio, who admittedly have “been the best in the league in their categories”, Musa said: “Unfortunately it is going to be like baptism by fire because they will be making their debuts. They however have to beat the best to reach the top, and I believe this will be a vital learning lesson for them.”
Having been in a non-residential camp at Mathare Depot for close to a month, Musa hopes, however, that teams in the future will get ample preparation time ahead of global competitions.
Morocco, for instance, held a two-week training session in Budva, Montenegro before jetting off to Serbia.
Musa said: “Our biggest lesson from our last four events is that we need to participate in as many competitions as possible, and maybe have long residential training sessions where we can match up with top African nations like Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
“Given our resources however, we have prepared well and all we want to see is effective representation."
