Thabiso scoops top IBA post
MBABANE – Eswatini top boxer Thabiso Dlamini was elected as a member of the IBA Athletes Committee.
This follows the elections held during the 2021 IBA Men’s and 2022 Women’s World Championships. The athletes participating in the championships voted for the members of the committee via a secure electronic system provided by LUMI. This news was broken by International Boxing Association (IBA) recently-elected President Umar Kremlev yesterday.
Thabiso’s election comes at the time when the country is still celebrating the historic election of Eswatini Boxing Association Pearl Dlamini into the IBA Board of Directors about a fortnight ago. This was during the elections, which were held in Instanbul, Turkey. “I am confident that with your vast experience as an athlete you will make a valuable contribution to the success of this important committee and to IBA,” reads part of the letter which was sent by the president of the local athlete.
Thabiso was further advised to confirm if he accepted the position. In accordance with the rules, the athlete who received the highest number of votes - Ms Lovlina Borgohain (IND) shall be the Chairperson and a voting member on the Board of Directors.
Work
All elected members of the Athletes Committee will be called to a meeting to elect the second representative of the committee to join the Board of Directors. “There is also much work to be done, especially in reviewing elements of the Olympic qualification process for Paris 2024,” said the president to Thabiso.
The president then congratulated the Matsapha Boxing Club boxer for being elected and said he was looking forward to working with him in the best interest of boxers.
Reached for comment, Thabiso said; “I’m speechless because this came as a surprise to me; It is historic to be the first local boxer to be in such committee. The hard work I put in sport is even recognised globally. It is a huge achievement if you consider that they want me to represent boxers in the world. Being the only boxer from Africa means a lot,” said the 2010 Zone VI (now Region V) Youth Games gold medallist.
He also went on to congratulate former boxing president Pearl, who was also elected into the IBA Board of Directors as a member, and said he was happy to follow in her footsteps.