Namibia beat Angolan boxers in friendly

NAMIBIA scooped seven gold and Angola four gold medals in the International Friendly Boxing tournament between the two countries’ amateur boxers staged in Oshakati on Saturday evening.

The event was held in preparation of both countries’ participation at the All Africa Games billed for Algeria in July 2007. Namibia Amateur Boxing Federation (NABF) development officer Ambrosius Kandjii said Namibian boxers proved that they are better than their Angolan counterparts, who ended fifth overall during the 2007 edition of the Zone Six Games won by hosts Botswana.Namibia finished seventh out of nine countries.Although Namibia won the friendly event, Kandjii was not happy with his boxers’ performances, saying “we still need to work very hard”.He said boxers’ fitness levels need to improve and the NABF’s development programme needs to be reactivated.The previous four-year programme was completed in 2005 and no development took place in 2006, said Kandjii.The development programme, an initiative of the Sports Ministry, included awareness campaigns, talent identification, training, the donation of equipment and assisting with regional structures.The results of the programme were clearly visible, with Namibia winning the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Zone Six Games, as well as individual boxers like Japhet Uutoni’s gold medals in Zone Six (2006), African Championship (2006) and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.He added that Government alone cannot do it all, and appealed to the business community to assist in getting the development programme back on track.The boxers who won medals are: Gold: 48 kg – Japhet Uutoni, 54 kg – Johannes Simon, 60 kg – Julius Indongo, 64 kg – Actofel Shivute, 69 kg – Desmond Kasuto, 81 kg – Trevor Jacobs and +91 kg – Tobias Munihango.Silver: 51 kg – Gabriel Sackaria, 57 kg – Samuel Kapapu, 75 kg – Titus Joseph.NampaNamibia Amateur Boxing Federation (NABF) development officer Ambrosius Kandjii said Namibian boxers proved that they are better than their Angolan counterparts, who ended fifth overall during the 2007 edition of the Zone Six Games won by hosts Botswana.Namibia finished seventh out of nine countries.Although Namibia won the friendly event, Kandjii was not happy with his boxers’ performances, saying “we still need to work very hard”.He said boxers’ fitness levels need to improve and the NABF’s development programme needs to be reactivated.The previous four-year programme was completed in 2005 and no development took place in 2006, said Kandjii.The development programme, an initiative of the Sports Ministry, included awareness campaigns, talent identification, training, the donation of equipment and assisting with regional structures.The results of the programme were clearly visible, with Namibia winning the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Zone Six Games, as well as individual boxers like Japhet Uutoni’s gold medals in Zone Six (2006), African Championship (2006) and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.He added that Government alone cannot do it all, and appealed to the business community to assist in getting the development programme back on track.The boxers who won medals are: Gold: 48 kg – Japhet Uutoni, 54 kg – Johannes Simon, 60 kg – Julius Indongo, 64 kg – Actofel Shivute, 69 kg – Desmond Kasuto, 81 kg – Trevor Jacobs and +91 kg – Tobias Munihango.Silver: 51 kg – Gabriel Sackaria, 57 kg – Samuel Kapapu, 75 kg – Titus Joseph.Nampa