South Africa postpones boxing competition for cadets and juniors — TimesLIVE
In South Africa, the national boxing competition for cadets and juniors, scheduled for late September in Kimberley, has been postponed to December 7–10. The tournament of the South African National Boxing Organisation, Sanabo, is intended for athletes aged 13 to 16.
Reasons for the postponement
Sanabo president Siya Mkwalo explained that the competition had to be postponed because the local organizing committee was formed late. According to him, the organizers also did not receive all the necessary guarantees from provincial and local authorities.
Mkwalo acknowledged that the dissatisfaction of coaches and athletes was justified and said that the federation had considered other options to keep the tournament’s original dates. Coaches said they had already made bookings, while boxers had been actively preparing for the events. According to them, many participants will be focused on final exams in December, while some athletes from the Western Cape had planned trips to visit relatives in the Eastern Cape.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Federation plans
As TimesLIVE reports, Sanabo plans to hold a virtual national forum in November to seek solutions to the federation’s problems. One possible topic will be involving professional boxers in qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. South Africa’s senior national team has largely lost experienced athletes after its former members moved into professional boxing.
According to the publication, Olympic qualification is to begin next year with continental tournaments and the world championship, while global qualifying competitions are scheduled for 2028. South Africa was last represented by boxers at the Olympics in London in 2012. Before the Rio 2016 Games, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee refused to accept continental qualification; before Tokyo 2020, Sanabo did not send a team to the African qualifiers; and no one qualified for Paris 2024.
