adminThe only female flag-bearer, Chidziwo, held her own as she came second after losing in the final to Maroua Rahali of Tunisia by a 33-11 points score in the bantamweight division.
Masiyambumbi, who moved up the weights to middleweight, lost 15-8 to Algerian Tabi Sofian and 22-8 to Botswana’s Zibane Chikanda to claim bronze.
All bouts had four rounds each and the round-robin format was used for all the fighters.
Speaking yesterday after their arrival from Botswana, the Zimbabwe Amateur Boxing Association (Zaba) technical director Petros Masiyambumbi expressed satisfaction with how the contingent fared in Botswana.
“The team did exceptionally well. Fortunate lost to a boxer who qualified for the Olympics and although I was not overly impressed by the officiating the girl did well. Steven also fought well and got a bronze medal but overall all the five boxers performed very well.
“You have to consider that we were the only team that was not booked into a hotel and we had to cook our own meals which was not that conducive. Even renting a house far from the ring was a challenge and the Botswana Boxing Organisation ended up helping us with transport seeing the dire straits we were in,” Masiyambumbi said.
He thanked Revival Motorways who donated some money for the two Bulawayo boxers Milton Moyo and Brighton Masiyambumbi.
The boxers who made up the Zimbabwean contingent were Beaven Nyamondera and Kudzanayi Huni. Nine countries battled it out in the championships — Zimbabwe, Guinea, Gabon, Tunisia, South Africa, Mozambique, Algeria, Mauritius and the hosts Botswana.
Online Reporter