Mikia Kalati
TŠENOLA Boxing Club has registered discontentment over the registration of their boxer, Thabo ‘Malifeisi’ Molefe, as an athlete of the LDF Boxing Club at the recently ended Commonwealth Games, held in Gold Coast, in Australia.
Molefe reached the quarterfinals at the games and his coach, Chaka Moekoa, says it is unfair that he is not getting the credit for the exploits of the boxer that he trained since he was 12-years old.
He said he was aggrieved that the information that was given about the boxer at the games also indicates that he does not have a coach and allergies that this could have been deliberate.
“He is not a soldier and if you look at that information they say he does not have a coach yet I’m his coach,” Moekoa said.
“I am waiting for an explanation since I called the president of the Boxing Association immediately and he is yet to give me feedback. I am disappointed as the coach because now the world knows him as an LDF athlete.
“It hurts because I started working with the boxer when he was still very young and still his coach to this day.
“It is disappointing for any coach who has invested his time in a boxer because he wants to see an end product. When an athlete shines the coach makes the headlines too. All the coaches whose boxers were there were acknowledged except myself.”
He said he was worried that development would also cost them sponsorship.
“He is not a soldier and does not have sponsors, but that information blocks all prospects for sponsorship for both the club and the boxer because everyone assumes that since he is in the army he is supported by the army.
“This may have been done deliberately so that someone improves his record with the World Boxing Association if the boxer is registered as an athlete for another team not ours,” Moekoa said.
He however said he was still not sure who could be behind the inaccurate information.
The Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) secretary general, Morake Raleaka, said he were not aware of the discrepancy in the identity of the boxer, but they normal take information regarding the boxers from World Boxing Championship (AIBA).
“We are not even aware that there is that discrepancy,” Raleaka said.
“We get the names of the athletes and when the associations have met all the requirements, we then communicate with AIBA to give us the registration number. For them to be endorsed by Commonwealth their licence numbers are required as proof that they are in the database of the association.
“We do not even have the profiles, rather, we follow-up to see if the boxer is seeded at AIBA and in which category.”
He said apart form the said processes, they do not concentrate on the other information.
For his part, the Lesotho Boxing Association public relations officer, Katiso Tšenoli said they were not aware how the mix-up occurred.
“The president is also not aware of what happened as somebody that communicates with AIBA from our association, but we believe that the truth will come on as to who was behind that information,” Tšenoli said.
“Before the tournament I was the one working on the database along with the coach, Ntate Sibusiso Keketsi, until I pulled out later as I was no longer travelling with the team.
“The other boxers were already in AIBA’s database but Molefe is new,” Tšenoli said.
