Kenyan boxer Christine Ongare eliminated from Tokyo Olympics

Irish Magno of Philippines defeats Kenyan Christine Ongare via unanimous decision in the women's flyweight division round of 32 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games  [photo courtesy]

Irish Magno of Philippines on Sunday morning defeated Christine Ongare of Kenya via unanimous decision in the Round of 32 of the women's flyweight division at the Kokugikan Arena.

The Filipino boxer scored a unanimous decision win against Ongare, with four of the five judges scoring 30-27 in favour of the Filipino pug. One judge gave a 30-26 score for Magno.

Magno made a strong impression early in the first round as she landed powerful punches that forced Ongare, who was making her debut at the Olympics, to adjust her headgear on one occasion.

Irish Magno of Philippines advances to Round of 16 after beating Kenya’s Christine Ongare [photo courtesy]

Ongare was more aggressive in the second round, tagging Magno with a right hook and an uppercut, but the 29-year-old boxer displayed great footwork and counterpunching to neutralize Ongare's aggression and win the bout.

Magno is the second Philippine-bred boxer to move on to the next round of the competition following Nesthy Petecio's unanimous decision win over Congo's Sakobi Matshu Marcelat a day before.

Magno faces Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong in the round-of-16 on July 29.

The loss leaves two Kenyan boxers yet to take the ring in the chase for top honours.
They are Africa Zone Three super heavyweight gold medalist Elly Ajowi, and national flyweight champion Elizabeth Akinyi.
The two are also making their first debut in the global games.

Mongolia's Tsendbaatar Erdenbat (left) exchanges punches with Kenya's Nick Okong'o Okoth during their men's featherweight 57-kg boxing match at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, yesterday. [AP]

On Saturday, 2015 Africa Boxing Championships lightweight (60kg) -gold medalist Nick Okoth was the first Kenyan boxer to bow out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after losing his featherweight bout(57kg) to Erdenebat Tsendbaatar of Mongolia in Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.