Africa Qualifiers: Third Tanzanian reaches quarters
TANZANIAN Mohamed Abdallah fought bravery to qualify for the quarter-final stage of the African competition that serves as the qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
He becomes the third Tanzanian pugilist to reach the stage following his victory over Egyptian boxer, Abdallah Saied Emam in the men’s flyweight category of the round of 16 at Dakar Arena in Senegal on Monday evening.
Abdallah outpointed the Egyptian boxer by a unanimous decision from the judges. Before advancing to the round of 16 he fought against Patrick Fernades of Cape Verde in the round of 32. He won by a 4-1 decision.
Abdallah joins two other boxers from Tanzania, Yusuf Changalawe and Grace Mwakamele who advanced to the quarters earlier.
On that night, another Tanzanian boxer, Musa Maregesi, lost by points to Senegalese Kebe Karamba in the super heavyweight division.
The going is still tough as 18 Olympic quota berths are on the line. There is one men’s quota available in each of the seven weight classes and two quotas up for grabs in each of the women’s weight classes, except only a single spot is available in the 75kg division.
Tanzania travelled with a team of six boxers. On the men’s side include Changalawe, Salum Mwalami, Abdallah, and Musa Maregesi. The ladies are Zulfa Yusufu and Grace Mwakamele.
Out of six boxers from Tanzania, only three boxers are still on track to win gold or silver.
Hence, Abdallah and Chagalawe ought to win gold to seal a spot for Tanzania in next year’s games. For Grace, she needs gold or silver to secure a spot in the Olympic Games.
Salum Mwalami, Musa Maregesi, and Zulfa Yusufu are the three boxers eliminated in the qualifiers race.
Mwalami failed to advance after losing to Idriss Kitangila of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32 while Zulfa lost to Adeiola Oyesiji of Nigeria in the round of 16.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), boxers who do not qualify for quota seats in Dakar will have another chance at the two world qualifying competitions in Busto Arzizio, Italy from February 29th to March 12th and Bangkok, Thailand from May 23rd to June 3rd.
