Ikgopoleng back in Botswana
Former boxing national team head coach Khumiso Ikgopoleng is back in Botswana after travelling the world and coaching in different continents. The AIBA three star coach who holds a degree in Physical Education and sports majoring in boxing is currently running a personal training business in Gaborone as he plots his next career move in the country.
Ikgopoleng, who is the last coach to send a local boxer to the Olympic games also happens to be an Olympian himself. In an interview this week, the former boxing champion said he is currently into personal fitness and encouraging Batswana to stay healthy in the midst of the raging Covid- 19 pandemic. Ikgopoleng is currently focusing in Elite coaching, boxing skill class, youth training, boot camps, strength and conditioning as well as body weight and core.
“Business has been a bit slow as some clients are complaining that the classes are too expensive but this is a mobile gym where I am able to train them at home. I am targeting those that want to lose weight but reluctant to visit the gym as well as shy children lacking confidence,” Ikgopoleng said.
Meanwhile, the influential boxing coach said he is considering coming back into the local sports system, either the Botswana National Sports Commission ( BNSC) or the Botswana National Olympic Committee ( BNOC). “I have not yet received any offers, not even from the Botswana Boxing Association ( BoBA); maybe it it’s because local sports is currently down due to Covid- 19 but everyone is aware that I am around.”
Furthermore, the Olympian coach who took bantam weight Oteng Oteng to the 2012 London Olympics said he is open to working with individual local boxers to improve their skills as gym facilities are currently unavailable due to the pandemic. “I am able to work with both amateur and professional boxers at the moment and there is a lot of difference between training sessions in both disciplines.”
According to the coach, professional boxers require a one on one training session while amateur boxers train in groups. Quizzed on whether he is now in Botswana to stay, the former Corner Boxing club ( Colorado US) coach said he will see how things unfold during his stay in the country.