Boxers off to SA tourney

Moorosi Tsiane

AN eight member Commonwealth Games provisional team of boxers is set to represent Lesotho in a tournament that gets underway on Saturday in Botshabelo in neighbouring South Africa.

Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA) spokesperson, Katiso Tšenoli, revealed that Moroke Mokhotho and Inkululeko Suntele who are already part of a Commonwealth Games two year programme which ends next year will be joined by other six boxers from different boxing clubs.

“This is an open tournament where all our the teams affiliated with LeBA have been invited and we saw it as an opportunity for the coaches to assess how far the boxers have come since starting the Commonwealth Games programme,” Tšenoli said.

Tšenoli said they were set to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Free State Boxing Association in South Africa to invite each other whenever either of them hosts tournaments.

“They (Free State) are also growing in terms of boxing and having noticed the talent we have, they agreed to work with us to give boxers enough competition to help them grow.

“Such tournaments are good for the development of boxing in Lesotho because financial constraints usually make it difficult for us to stage tournaments.”

Tšenoli said they were still to select the team for next year’s Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in Australia.

“We currently have eight players but I can’t say this is the final selection. It will also depend on how many boxers the Lesotho National Olympics Committee (LNOC) allows us to pick.

“For this weekend’s tournament, the LNOC will cater for the eight players and we have also asked the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission to help the other clubs. The target is for the country to have a greater pool of players for the future.”

Meanwhile, LeBA will host a tournament in Mafeteng on 9 September where South African clubs are expected to participate.