BOXING – THE stage is set for the first Bahrain National Boxing Championships, which go straight into the quarter-finals tomorrow featuring many of the kingdom’s top fighters.
Bouts in various weight classes for elite men, elite women, and youth will be held in a specially erected ring at the Bahrain Table Tennis Association hall at Isa Sports City in Riffa. Fans will be able to enjoy the action from 6pm tomorrow, with entrance completely free of charge.
The event is being held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sport first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
It will crown the kingdom’s first-ever group of national boxing champions, with more than $15,000 being allocated by the Bahrain Boxing Federation (BBF) for winners. At the same time, it will give an opportunity for the BBF to identify young, up-and-coming talent, who can be given an opportunity to train with the national team and possibly get into the ring for the kingdom one day.
Bahrain boxing national team head coach Tony Davis told the GDN yesterday that the fighters are eager to showcase their skills at this first-of-its-kind event on the island.
“As we started to come in for the weigh-ins on Saturday, the fighters seemed upbeat, but they are even more so now when they come into the arena and see how things are turning out; their adrenaline starts to kick in and they get even more excited,” said Davis.
“To be the first person in Bahrain to become a national champion, surely no one can take that away from you.”
The competition categories in the national championships include 51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg, and over-92kg for elite men; 54kg for elite women; and 80kg and over-92kg for youth.
The competition further acts as a test event for when the kingdom hosts the ISF Gymnasiade Bahrain 2024 – a multi-sport meet that will be held later this year under the patronage of His Majesty the King. Boxing is one of nearly 30 sports set to take place, with young student-athletes, coaches, and fans from more than 80 countries around the world descending upon the kingdom.
Meanwhile, a one-star certification course for boxing referees and judges begins today for around a dozen Bahraini officials. The programme is under the International Boxing Association (IBA), and it will qualify the kingdom’s boxing referees and judges to be able to officiate fights at the upcoming ISF Gymnasiade Bahrain 2024.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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