LEADING female boxer, Rapelang Maselela, is one win away from claiming gold at the inaugural World Boxing Africa Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
Maselela, who is competing in the women’s featherweight division (54–57kg), will face Uganda’s Vanessa Nagawa in the final.
She booked her place in the gold medal bout on Tuesday after defeating Tanzania’s Zawadi Kutaka Amos, while Nagawa secured her place in the final with a victory over Algeria’s Douaa Rouaz.
Maselela will be looking to build on her recent international success after making history in August by becoming the first Lesotho female athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. She claimed bronze at the Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Regardless of the outcome of the final, Maselela is guaranteed at least a silver medal.
Lesotho coach, Thabiso Nketu, is confident that Maselela will rise to the occasion and bring home gold, although he acknowledged that Nagawa poses a formidable challenge.
“We are bringing it home,” Nketu told the Lesotho Times yesterday from Nairobi.
“Uganda has strong players. We watched the one we are facing in the finals when she fought against Algeria and she is good, but we are ready to face her.”
However, Nketu admitted that Maselela’s right thumb injury remained a concern after she aggravated it during Tuesday’s bout.
“The only worry is the boxer’s thumb injury. She aggravated it on Tuesday, and that is on her right hand, which is her power hand,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lesotho’s other representative at the championships, Monaheng Khebe, failed to progress beyond the preliminary rounds in the 65kg division after losing to Angola’s Bernardo.
Both Maselela and Khebe are beneficiaries of Olympic Solidarity (OS) athlete scholarships, which support their preparations and qualification campaigns for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
