- The two are Female Boxer of the Year and Male Boxer of the Year respectively
- National team head coach emerges Coach of the Year
GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana Boxing Association’s (BOBA) senior national team duo of George Molwantwa and Lethabo Modukanele emerged big winners at the prestigious BoBA awards that were held in Gaborone over the weekend.
Molwantwa won the Male Boxer of the Year award while Modukanele was crowned Female Boxer of the Year, the top awards of the night which came with a whopping P12 000 for each.
Modukanele dominated the 2022 boxing season, winning everything on offer locally and becoming the first female boxer in Botswana to win a medal (bronze) at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
The last man standing
Not to be outdone, Molwantwa became the last man standing at the IBA Men’s Boxing World Championships in Uzbekistan last month. He exited the competition in the last 16 after he won over two matches against top ranked boxers in the world.
He also made it to the Commonwealth semi-finals, improving Botswana’s rankings in the process.
In an interview with Gazette Sports, Molwantwa said he is happy with the recognition he got from the boxing fraternity which is a true reflection of hard work from his side. “I have been working very hard the entire year because my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympics,” he said.
Source of inspiration
“The recognition will boost my confidence and motivate me to work harder in upcoming competitions. The award will forever be a source of inspiration for me and I want it to motivate others within the team because victory for one is victory for all.” he said.
For her part, Modukanele dedicated the award to her coach Lechedzani Luza for creating a competitive boxer in her. “I am happy to have emerged the best female boxers because the others are also very good,” she said.
“It was not an easy journey but I managed to redeem myself from an injury-hampered season. This was my second award of the year and it humbles me. I am going to continue working hard so that I keep putting my country on the map.”
Most Promising Boxer
Other winners on the night were Mmoloki Sekwaipe and Keobakeng Phillip, who emerged The Most Promising Female Boxer and the Most Promising Male Boxer respectively, pocketing P3 000 each.
The head coach of the national team, Thebe Setlalekgosi won the Coach of the Year award while Chabongwa Pilane emerged Administrator of the Year.
Francistown Boxing Club walked away P8 000 as Affiliate of the Year.
The awards were sponsored by Debswana to the tune of P400 000 that went to prizes and organising of the event.