World Champion Khadija Mardi among twenty-two boxers to qualify for the finals of AFBC African Boxing Championships
October 23rd, 2024 / African Corner, AFBC
IBA World Champion, Morocco’s Khadija Mardi stopped Sila Tshimwanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first round to stomp through to the finals of the ongoing AFBC Men’s and Women’s African Boxing Championships in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
A smashing right to the face staggered Tshimwanga, forcing the referee to intervene as Mardi joined the first 22 boxers to qualify for the finals and are assured of a gold or silver medal. A total of 44 boxers took part in the first session of the semi-finals in front of a cheering enthusiastic crowd at the Stade des Martyrs Gymnasium. Forty-two more boxers are in action in the second session of the semi-finals on 23 October 2024.
‘I’m feeling very strong aiming to win my third gold medal at African Boxing Championships, I’m sure I’ll take home gold to my three daughters,’ Mardi said. The two-time African champion will now take on Cameroon’s Bernadette Keuye in the finals, and she is the favourite to win this fight to fulfill her ambition of winning a third consecutive gold medal in Africa’s premier boxing tournament. Mardi won the first gold in the African Championships 2022 in Maputo, Mozambique, and added the second gold medal at the African tournament 2023 in Yaounde, Cameroon.
In addition to Mardi, DR Congo’s Peter Pita Kabeji is also in line for his third consecutive gold medal following his hard-earned points victory over Cameroon’s Abeb Georges in the semi-finals. Kabeji, inspired by the cheering home crowd, was fully stretched by Georges but he had an edge over the Cameroon boxer with more authoritative punches and fully capitalized on his vast experience to move to the finals, in which Kabeji will meet Morocco’s Ahmed Badrani who outpointed Kiana Adriano of Angola.
World Championships bronze medallist Yasmine Mouttaki is also aiming to win her third gold medal at the AFBC African Boxing Championships but not back-to-back, having clinched her first gold medal at the 2017 African Championships in Congo Brazzaville and then won her second gold at the African Champions 2023 in Yaounde. In Kinshasa, Mouttaki knocked out South Africa’s Mathiba Thandolwethu in the second round of the light-flyweight bout. After a slow start in the first round, Mouttaki clicked into a top gear in the second round in which she started shaking the South African boxer with a series of hard right shots. She then cornered her rival towards the end of the round unleashing a right punch which thundered on the jaw of Thandolwethu, who went down on her knee, but she failed to beat the count.
‘I didn’t expect the punch honestly, it was so powerful that for some time I lost consciousness, but I recovered,’ said Thandolwethu, winner of a bronze medal in last year’s AFBC African Championships in Yaounde.
‘I had not planned for a KO, it just came, but I’m not surprised because I trained very well,’ said Mouttaki, a red-hot favorite for a gold medal in finals taking place on 25 and 26 October 2024.
Mouttaki and Mardi were among the nine Moroccan boxers who won their fights to keep alive their hopes of retaining the overall title as well as adding more pressure on DR Congo, whose seven boxers won their fights and three lost. The two countries have 18 boxers each in the semi-finals with Morocco having two boxers already in the finals and DR Congo three in the finals after getting byes during the draws.
Kenya’s national team, handled by head coach Musa Benjamin assisted by David Munuhe and John Waweru, lead the East Africa Region with eight semi-finalists followed by Ethiopia three with Tanzania and Burundi having one each.
