Black Bombers coach targets Olympic slots
The head trainer of the Black Bombers, Kwasi Ofori Asare, is aiming high as his boxers gear up to compete in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Dakar, Senegal, with the clear objective securing at least two slots for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Two Olympic slots may look very modest for a country which sends an average of four boxers to the global event, but Asare said the mission in Dakar would not be a walk in the park, as only 19 boxers, consisting of seven males and 12 females, would have the opportunity to qualify from the continent.
Coach Asare and his coaching team have been diligently preparing a team of talented female and male boxers, including Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medallist, Samuel Takyi, at a rigorous training camp in Accra, fine-tuning their preparation and strategising ahead of the crucial September 9-15 tournament.
Recent additions to the team have injected fresh energy and talent, with US-based female boxer Ornella Sathoud and England-based Seth Gyimah, known as Freezy MacBones, joining the squad last week at their Trust Sports Emporium training base.
The veteran coach is determined to pick qualification slots at the Dakar competition or exploring other qualifying opportunities next year to guarantee the Black Bombers' presence at the Olympic Games.
"It is a three-stage qualification, if we don't get the qualification here, we are looking at subsequent qualifications in Italy in February and Bangkok in May," he explained.
Coach Asare was excited about the arrival of MacBones and Sathoud whose presence in camp has lifted the morale of their teammates.
"You can see from the training you are just witnessing and how satisfied they are and happy they are," he told the Graphic Sports.
Bernard Quartey, president of the Ghana Boxing Federation, confirmed to the Graphic Sports that tickets had already been procured for the Dakar tournament and was hoping for the release of other allowances necessary to raise the boxers' morale to compete at their full potential.
