Tanzania Commonwealth test starts
DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA’S campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games gets underway today when bantamweight boxer Faki Issa Faki faces Zambia’s Mwengo Mwale in the men’s 55kg round-of-16 bout in Glasgow.
The contest, scheduled for 8:00 pm, will be the first appearance by a Tanzanian athlete at this year’s Games, where the country is represented by 12 athletes competing in athletics, boxing, judo and swimming.
A victory for Issa would move him into the quarter-finals and provide a positive start for Tanzania’s campaign as the team seeks to build on its performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Attention will then turn to Tanzania’s most experienced boxer, Yusuf Changalawe, who meets Nigeria’s Akintola David in the men’s 80kg division tomorrow.
Changalawe returns to the Commonwealth Games after winning a bronze medal in Birmingham, making him one of Tanzania’s strongest medal prospects in Glasgow.
Tanzania has sent a 12-member team to the Games, comprising six athletes in athletics, three in boxing, two in judo and one in swimming.
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The athletics squad includes Cecilia Panga, Hamida Nassoro, Winfrida Makenji, Daniel Sinda, Benjamin Fernandi Ratsim and Josephat Gisemo.
The boxing team is made up of Faki Issa Faki, Yusuf Changalawe and Zawadi Amos Kutaka, while Andrew Thomas Mlugu and Ibrahim Mohamed Hamis will compete in judo. Collins Saliboko is Tanzania’s sole swimmer.
The Games commenced yesterday and climax on August 2, featuring 3,000 athletes from across the Commonwealth competing in 10 sports.
Tanzania enters the competition seeking to add to its record of 24 Commonwealth Games medals, comprising six gold, seven silver and 11 bronzes.
The country’s last appearance on the Commonwealth podium came in Birmingham in 2022, where marathon runner Alphonce Simbu won silver, while Kassim Mbundwike and Changalawe claimed bronze medals in boxing.
Boxing and athletics have traditionally been Tanzania’s strongest sports at the Commonwealth Games, producing many of the country’s medals over the years.
