Boxing: Chege in quarter-finals as four others get byes

Featherweight Kenyan boxer Pauline Chege. [Standard Sports]

What a lucky draw for Kenya’s Pauline Chege in the World Military Boxing Championships which started in Moscow, Russia.

Chege, a product of former international boxer Kenneth “Valdez” Ochieng who’s the coach of Kayole Boxing Club, is a heartbeat from winning a medal after receiving a bye to the quarter-finals following the draws on Friday.

The Kenyan featherweight will battle it out with Mongolia’s Tumurkhuyag Bolortuul in the quarters.

Victory will assure the Kenyan soldiers their first medal as she will have qualified for the semi-finals.

Four other boxers, heavyweight Fredrick Onyango, flyweight Kelvin Maina, lightweight Washington Wandera and welterweight Chrispin Murimi got byes to the last 16.

International super-heavyweight Fredrick Ramogi, the 2019 African Games bronze medallist, light-flyweight Abednego Kyalo and bantamweight Samuel Njau were not favoured by the draw as they’ll have to fight their way out from the preliminaries.

Ramogi, the most experienced boxer in the Kenya Defence Forces team, is pitted against Duwad Ashish of Nepal in his first fight.  Kenya is among the 12 African countries taking part in the 58th edition of World Military Boxing Championships.