▪️ The Southern African country last took part in the Africa Elite Championships in 2017
Namibia is finally back in the Africa Elite Boxing Championships this year scheduled for October 14-27 in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
The last time the Southern African country participated in this continental premier boxing event was in 2017 in Congo Brazzaville where they put up their best ever performance scooping two gold medals through light-flyweight Matias Hamunyela and light-welterweight Jonas Jonas to finish fourth overall.
Namibia Boxing Federation President Benjamin Rebang, who’s also the team manager of the Kinshasa-bound boxers, today announced they will be represented by four pugilists captained by featherweight Tryagain Ndevelo (pictured) with Joseph Titus Muunda travelling as the head coach.
Jonas, Namibia’s most decorated amateur boxer, is unavailable as he’s preparing for a professional fight at the end of this month.
“I know our fans must be asking themselves why we’ve not appeared in last two editions in Maputo and Yaounde, it’s due to lack of funds,” said Namibia’s federation boss Rebang.
Skipper Ndevelo is bubbling with confidence promising Namibians he’s winning gold in his debut in the Africa Elite Championships.
“I’m calm and composed, I’m going hard and strong on my opponents, they’ll have it rough and will cry out my name loud after I hammer each one of them,” Ndevelo told me in a phone interview from Namibia.
Light-flyweight Japhet Uutoni won Namibia’s first gold medal in the Africa Elite Championships in 2005 in Casablanca, Morocco, with Hamunyela and Jonas winning the other two gold medals in 2017. Namibia’s first ever medallist in the Africa Championships is middleweight Sackey Shivute who won silver in 1998 in Algiers losing to Senegal’s El Hadji Djibril in the finals.
In the all-time medals standing in this prestigious tournament, Namibia is placed 15th overall with a total of three gold, one silver and two bronze medals by bantamweight Immanuel Naindjala and heavyweight Tobias Munihango at the 2005 Africa Championships in Casablanca.
Here’s Namibia’s DRC-bound team:
- Featherweight: Tryagain Morning Ndevelo
- Minimumweight: Elfas Imene Tomas
- Bantamweight: Johannes Trofimus
- Light-heavyweight: Gerbhared Ipinge
- Head coach: Joseph Titus Muunda
- Team manager: Benjamin Rebang
✍🏼 AFBC Communications
