NBF picks eight boxers for commonwealth games

The Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), yesterday, released the final list of male and female boxers that would represent the country at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which takes place in Australia, in April.

The trials held at the Brai Ayonote Gymnasium, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, saw the judges watch 16 national boxers for two days, at the end of which the finalists emerged.

The seven-man technical committee, headed by the federation’s Vice President /Chairman, Technical and Rule Committee, Brig-Gen. Joseph Ayeni, eventually settled for four male and four female boxers.

Ayeni, who commended the boxers for giving their best, advised the Ministry of Youth and Sports to take eight other boxers as sparing partners to the selected ones on a foreign tour ahead of the games proper.

The final list for the female boxers has Ayisat Oriyomi (51kg) Lagos State; Yetunde Odunuga (60kg) Nigerian Army; Itunu Oriola (69kg) Lagos State and Millicent Agboegbulem (75kg) Delta State.

The male boxers are Ojo Sikiru Fatai (56kg) Nigeria Police Force; Soyoye Kazeem (60kg) Ogun State; Paris Umeh (69kg) Nigerian Army, and Lukmon Lawal (81kg), who is from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.