Commonwealth Games silver medalist and World Boxing Council silver title holder Elizabeth Osoba has been ruled out of the African Games to be held in Accra, Ghana due to injury, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After the 2016 Olympics rule change that allowed professional boxers to fight their amateur counterparts, the African Games followed suit in 2019 as some professional boxers fought amateurs in Morocco.
However, Nigeria did not produce any professional boxers then and Oshoba would have been the first but for the injury.
A bronze medalist at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, where she lost in the semi-finals to Botswana’s Keamogetse Kenosi, Oshoba had accepted to be included in the squad, but an injury sustained in a training session in London ruled her out of the Games.
“I am very disappointed, I was really looking forward to representing my country at the African Games,” said Oshoba.
National coach Tony Konyegawachi was equally disappointed after the injury that dropped Oshoba from the squad.
“Oshoba was in my team but I had to remove her because of the injury,” Konyegawachie said when he announced the names of the 11 boxers who will represent the populous West African country in Accra.
The squad includes all three boxers who have qualified for the Paris Olympics and longest-serving international, Commonwealth Games middleweight bronze medalist Jacinta Umunnakwe, who has moved up to light-heavyweight.
The team includes the three athletes who have secured qualification for the Paris Olympics, African bronze medalist Dolapo Omole, African heavyweight champion Adams Olaore and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Cynthia Ogunsemilore.
African middleweight silver medalist Patricia Mbata, one of Nigeria’s medal contenders, is also in the squad.
Coach Konyagawachie’s squad includes three newcomers, much improved women bantamweight Sukurah Kareem, light middleweight Blessing Oraekwe and light middleweight Yakubu Ibrahim, who will make their international debuts in Accra.
“We selected the best boxers in the country. The rest we leave to God to guide us,” Konyegawachie said.