THE technical director of Rwanda’s boxing association (Raba) Gashuji Kananura has blasted Rwanda National Olympics Committee (RNOC) for deserting the sport.
Kananura, who also doubles as the national head coach yesterday questioned RNOC’s competence.

He criticized the body for concentrating all their attention on athletics, swimming and tennis at the expense of other sporting disciplines like boxing.

"One reason why the sport is lagging behind is because RNOC has ignored it,” Kananura complained.

Due to limited funds, there has been very little action on the local scene.

In June and August, Rwanda missed out on two African championships because Raba did not have the funds and also because the boxers were short of tournaments.

"It would make little sense to field boxers who have gone four to five months without playing competitively in the ring,” the official noted.

Gashuji now believes that Raba’s only option is to maintain a good working relationship with the International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) which supports them in various aspects.

IABA supports the local body with equipment, technical and financial benefits.

The official also revealed that the association has tabled two events in November and December.

The November tournament is reserved for local pugilists while the December championship is open to pugilists from the East African region; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.

Clubs have been advised to step up training ahead of next month’s event.

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