Rocky Start For Team Botswana In Tokyo
Team Botswana experienced a rocky
start at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics
with debutants, Keamogetse Sadie Kenosi of boxing and
James Freeman of swimming eliminated
from the competition
Team Botswana experienced a rocky start at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics with debutants, Keamogetse Sadie Kenosi of boxing and James Freeman of swimming getting eliminated from the competition.
Kenosi was eliminated in the preliminary stage by Karriss Artingestall of Great Britain. The British won the women’s featherweight division (54kg-57kg) through unanimous decision.
Artingestall stepped into the ring boasting of more experience than Kenosi and she was a favourite. However, Kenosi tried her best with some attacks, which included some good work to the body. Despite that, her punches did not carry power as one would expect. At one moment, the bout was stopped to give Kenosi a chance to tie her shoe lace.
Artingestall went on aggressively to claim the round.
The second round saw Kenosi starting with some good hands. But the match had to be paused as her head guard had to be tied. The few seconds gave the European champion a chance to strategise. She went on the attack and at the end of the round, Kenosi slipped resulting in the British winning the round.
It was clear that the bout was getting too far for Kenosi. She tried to get back into the match with some good body work at the beginning of the third round. That was not enough though. The British continued landing some perfect jabs and there was no reply from Kenosi. Towards the end of the bout, Kenosi fell on the canvas. That was the end of her Olympics dream.
Speaking to Sport Monitor, Boxing national team coach, Master Luza said Kenosi put up a good fight despite the loss. He explained that the boxer had her last bout in February 2020.
For his part, the team manager, Gilbert
Khunwane said it was likely that the process of weight loss could have had an impact on Kenosi.
“It has not been easy for her because she spent a lot of time struggling to reach the correct weight. During the Olympics match, she got tired in the second round. Her punches were not effective,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the Aquatic Center, the going was tough for Freeman. He was competing in the men’s 400m freestyle. He finished last with a time of 4:03:10. He also had a disappointing performance when he stopped the clock in 1:52:87 during the men’s 200m freestyle. He finished in position six.
Swimming coach, Alison La Grange said Freeman was disappointed with his race. “It has been a difficult period for him, traveling between Africa and USA to his new school. He was also chasing swimming galas to improve his time. He was under a lot of pressure,” La Grange said.