Botswana Boxing Pays the Price for Neglecting International Tournaments

Sunday Standard

Botswana Boxing Pays the Price for Neglecting International Tournaments

When team Botswana left for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games a fortnight ago, hopes were high that boxing would bring home a medal.

History and ‘the calibre’ of boxers selected into the team fuelled this optimism. To put this into perspective, long before athletics became Botswana’s hottest Commonwealth Games medal prospects, boxing was.

Botswana boxing has a rich history of medals dating back to 1994 when France Mabiletsa won a bronze medal at the Victoria Commonwealth Games. From then until 2010, boxing was never far from the podium at the Commonwealth Games.

That rich tradition was broken when Botswana boxers failed to win any medals at the Dehli 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. This medal duck was broken at Birmingham 2022 Games, courtesy of Lethabo Modukanele.

Her medal, which was one of the only two Botswana won four years ago in Birmingham sparked a flicker of hope that boxing was back. As she returned to the Commonwealth Games this year, hopes were high that she, along with the two other members of the boxing team, would bring home medals.That was however not to be. Inadequate preparations put paid to the local boxers bid for medals at the games.

While Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) had expressed optimism that they would do well, the writing had long been on the wall.

Leading to this year’s Commonwealth Games, local boxers had not had enough international exposure. Botswana boxing was a no show at the 2026 International Boxing Association (IBA) Africa Zone IV Elite Men and Women championships hosted in Katima Mulilo in Namibia.

Neither did they take part at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil.

The absence of local boxing representation at these high-level tournaments raised concerns, more especially as they were preparing for the Commonwealth Games. Reached for comment at the time, BoBA downplayed this glaring mistake.

“While such competitions are important, they are often once-off events. We are prioritising structured development through the League and youth pathways to better prepare athletes for high-level competitions that contribute to Olympic qualification, such as the Commonwealth Games,” BOBA said at the time.

To make up for this, the local boxers were shipped to Zambia for a weeklong training camp, which looked hastily arranged. This oversight has since caught up with the association, as the recent Commonwealth Games showed.

Modukanele, a hot medal prospect, bowed out in her first match of the tournament. She lost by a unanimous decision against India’s Sakshi Chaudhary. The same fate befell debutant Keatlaretse Gift Modise. She lost by unanimous decision against Greer Hall of New Zealand in her first match of the games.

Of the three boxers sent to the Commonwealth Games by BoBA, only Treasurer Moremi made an impression. He won his first two bouts, only to fall short against India’s Sachin Siwach in the quarterfinals. Moremi’s defeat meant Botswana boxing will return empty handed from this year’s edition of the Commonwealth Games.

Reflecting on the performance of local boxers, BoBA president Dirang Thipe says he is happy. In his words, acknowledged that the local boxers tried their best but were let down by inadequate preparations.

He says only sending the boxers to a training camp without exposing them to international tournaments was a mistake. “They should have been sent to international competitions during preparations. We did not give them that due to circumstances beyond our control.”

Thipe believes this was transparent as the boxers fell short. As a Commonwealth Games medallist, Modukanele was always going to be a target. Failure to prepare her adequately left her vulnerable.With regards to Modise, Thipe says she went to the games while adjusting to her new weight. She had dropped from 60kg to 54kg leading to these games. This meant her fight at the games was her first in that category since dropping weight leading to the games.

Now with Los Angeles 2028 Olympics beckoning, the BoBA president says things have to be done better. Thipe says things will change leading to the next Olympics. Boxers will be better prepared and will get more international exposure.

“We are working hard behind the scenes to make sure our boxers get adequate competition, both locally and internationally. Boxing will be back,” he vows.

The post Botswana Boxing Pays the Price for Neglecting International Tournaments first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Sunday Standard Reporter