Leemisa Thuseho
LESOTHO is guaranteed at least another medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, after boxer Rapelang Maselela booked her place in the women’s 57kg semi-finals yesterday.
Maselela defeated Tanzania’s Kutaka Amos in the quarter-finals to secure a place in the last four, guaranteeing herself at least a bronze medal. In doing so, she made history as the first Mosotho woman boxer to reach the medal stage at the Commonwealth Games.
She joins compatriot Pooana Khoahli, who also advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Mauritius’ Ziggy Agathe in the men’s 65kg quarter-finals.
With both boxers through to the last four, Lesotho is now assured of at least two bronze medals, as losing semi-finalists in boxing automatically receive bronze. However, Maselela and Khoahli will now be aiming to reach their respective finals and improve on their guaranteed bronze medals by securing either silver or gold.
The duo’s success also ends Lesotho’s 20-year Commonwealth Games medal drought. The country’s last medal at the Games came in 2006, when legendary boxer Moses Kopo won silver in Melbourne.
Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA) president, Koloba Sehloho, hailed the team’s performances as a testament to the progress boxing has made in the country, while emphasising that there is still room for improvement.
“There is progress and we are happy as the boxing family,” Sehloho told the Lesotho Times yesterday.
“However, there is still a long way to go. We want to rank among the top 10 boxing nations in the world. That will require collaboration and more international competition for our boxers.”
