Indongo eyes top award

JULIUS Indongo has no doubt that he will be crowned the country’s top performing athlete at the annual MTC/NSC Namibia Sports Awards on Friday night.

The former unified light-welterweight world champion is arguably the stand-out Namibian competitor over the past 12 months in which he went from being a little known boxer to a globe-trotting household name.

“I made history. I went to Russia and Scotland and won world titles, and then I went to America to fight for undisputed status. I did not win there but I still made history. I did what has never been done before by a Namibian,” Indongo, who is also up for the top sportsman award along with kick-boxer Lesley !Hoaeb and triathlete Jean-Paul Burger, told The Namibian Sport on Thursday.

Given his well-documented journey, Indongo is favourite to succeed. In 2016, Paralympic sprinter runner Ananias Shikongo won the Sports Achiever of the Year prize as well as Sportsman Disability of the Year award.

“It is not that others have not performed well. They did well but I made history. I feel my level was higher so there is no competition,” he added.

Indongo stunned then undefeated Russian knockout artist Eduard Troyanovsky in Moscow with a first-round, first-minute knockout in December 2016 to win the IBF and IBO titles. It was the first time Indongo had fought outside of Namibia.

He then went to Glasgow, Scotland, in April to put his belt on the line against WBA champion Ricky Burns and came away with a fairly easy unanimous decision, setting up the unification bout with American Terence Crawford, whose team had wanted bouts with both Troyanovsky and Burns before Indongo forced his way into the frame.

Crawford, who held the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization belts, became the undisputed champion of the super-lightweight division after stopping Indongo in the third round on 19 August.

Indongo, who was promoted to the rank of police inspector before his US fight, has vowed to return even stronger from his first professional defeated.

“My promoter is working on something for next year. I’ll be back. I am working hard to be better than this year,” Indongo said.

And the nominees – Development Programme of the Year – netball coaches and umpire programme, NCF Kids on Bike regional expansion programme, field hockey development programme; Umpire – Oscar Lambert (rugby), Jackson Pavaza (football), Nestor Tobias (boxing); Junior Sportswoman with Disability – Olivia Iyambo and Kertu Kapweya (both athletics); Junior Sportswoman – Sade de Sousa (athletics), Charlize van Zyl (gymnastics), Heleni Stergiadis (swimming); Junior Sportsman – Ivan Danny Geldenhys (athletics), Delano Muller (kick-boxing), Lance Potgieter (gymnastics); Junior Sportsman with Disability – Dian Jansen, Kristopher Marungu, Mateus Kambundu (all athletics); Sportswoman – Helalia Johannes (athletics), Michelle Vorster (cycling), Magreth Mengo (indoor hockey); Sportswoman with Disability: Johanna Benson and Lahja Ishitile (both athletics); Sportsman with Disability – Eino Mushila, Ananias Shikongo, Johannes Nambala (all athletics); Sportsman – Lesley !Hoaeb (kick-boxing), Julius Indongo (boxing), Jean-Paul Burger – (triathlon); Sports Team of the Year – Senior rugby (also nominated last year), Senior women’s hockey (also nominated last year), Under-20 rugby.

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