adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
TWO Zimbabwe Amateur Boxing Association fighters will have an opportunity to learn and upgrade their fighting skills when they attend the International Amateur Boxing Association training camp between this month and October in Kazakhstan.
The one-month long camp is set to start on September 27 and end on October 25, with the World Championships which will run until October 27.
All expenses for the trip are being catered for by AIBA.
ZABA will be represented by Brighton Masiyambumbi and Sendy Mbiza.
ZABA technical director Petros Masiyambumbi confirmed the development and said the two fighters will be accompanied by Mthulisi Moyo as the coach.
“AIBA have taken fighters from different countries to take part in a training camp for one month under international coaches and only if the coaches observe that they (fighters) are fit after the camp, then they will compete in the World Championships. The air tickets and visas are being paid for by AIBA.
“We got this invitation soon after the National Youth Games, it came through ZOC (the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee) and we needed to meet the deadlines for the application and we managed to do so.
“It’s a great opportunity to our athletes and Zimbabwe as a whole because we have never had such an opportunity.
“The reason we were awarded this opportunity is because we are in good books with the international association, we have paid our affiliation fees and we submitted our new constitution, so I think we are now starting to receive support from AIBA
“It’s a great opportunity because if they (the Zimbabwean boxers) do well there, the opportunity is open for qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“It’s not an opportunity for the boxers only but also for the coach to understudy some of the systems he did not know here,” said Masiyambumbi.
Masiyambumbi said they would have wanted the two fighters and their coach to hold a camp before they leave so that he can assess them since they have been training for the past month on their own.
“They were supposed to go into camp last week but we are failing to get the resources. We have written a letter to ZOC and the Sports Commission but we are yet to get a response.
“They would also need out-of-pocket allowances but when they get to the destination, everything else will be catered for by AIBA.
“This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss, we gave our fighters ample time to prepare so Mthulisi will just assess them and see if there are any areas that need to be improved,” said Masiyambumbi.
Meanwhile, the national association have set October 26 as the date for the national championships while the Champion of Champions tournament will be held on November 23.
Online Reporter