The Kenya National Para Boxing team, led by Emmanuel Yakhama and Evans Odhiambo, finished second behind hosts Poland at the Seven Stars Para Boxing tournament held in Warsaw.
Heavyweight boxer, Odhiambo, lost two rounds to one against homeboy Nikodem Prządka, who also represents his country in the discus throw.
“The first challenge we encountered here is that their wheelchairs are very different from the ones we use back home in Kenya. And also, these boxers don’t punch, they slap and we can also say that the judges favored the hosts and lacked fairness,” said Odhiambo.
“But we are also grateful to get this invitation because there is a lot that we have learnt. When we return home, we will practice more to improve and we believe that if they invite us next time, we will play better,” he added.
Team captain and lightweight pugilist Yakhama lost his bout by three rounds to two against Pawel Kaleta.
Yakhama and Odhiambo hold the East Africa and Africa titles in their respective categories.
“I am very grateful to the organizers of this competition for sending us this invitation to participate in this competition. Poland has defeated us but I am sure they have also realized that we as Kenyans are not far behind. We knew that if the opponent slaps you, it will not count as a score, but we discovered later that punches and slaps are the same thing. This could be the main reason for our loss,” noted Yahkama.
The team is expected to return back home on Wednesday.
“We will immediately go to camp for training upon our return, just in case we receive an invitation to another tournament,” said Yakhama.
