Edwin Okong’o added to Kenya’s gold medal haul at the ongoing African Games when he claimed a first boxing title for the country since 2007.
Edwin Okong’o won Kenya a boxing gold medal for the first time in 17 years after beating Morocco’s Yassine Elouarz in the men’s middleweight 75kg category at the African Games on Friday.
The 32-year-old won the bout 3-1 to live up to the billing after he had promised to deliver gold in the final.
Okong’o had silenced Helal Mohamed Habib of Tunisia in a middleweight (71-75kg) fight to seal his ticket to the semi-finals where he outfought Algeria’s Ahmed Abdelrraouf Ghazi to set up the meeting with the Tunisian.
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He showed great character to overcome whatever setbacks Elouarz handed him to claim the 3-1 victory.
“My mission here was to go back with a gold medal because it's a long time since Kenya won a boxing gold in the games,” Okong’o said after the bout, as quoted by The Star.
Boxing runs in the family for Okong'o, a cousin to former two-time Africa champion Nick Okoth and 1998 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Absolom Okinyi.
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It is the first gold medal for Kenya in boxing at the African Games since 2007 when Suleiman Bilali claimed the title in Algiers, Algeria.
The gold was the second medal for Kenya at the 2023 African Games after Amina Martha bagged silver after losing to Nigeria’s Kareem Shukura in the women’s 54kg bantamweight category on Thursday.
Kenya sent four boxers to the games and the two medals will wipe off the tears somewhat after none of the country’s representatives qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics both from the recent Qualification Tournament in Italy as well as from the African qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal last year.
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Kenya is now 10th on the medal standings with 35, being eight gold, seven silver and 20 bronze with one more medal expected on Saturday March 23 when Wafalme Stars face off with Cameroon in the men’s volleyball final.
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