The SA National Amateur Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) has congratulated the gutsy performance of the SA team at the Eurasian Daurian Cup despite its two boxers crashing to losses in the preliminary stages in Russia recently.
The two boxers, Lukho Gijana from Mdantsane and Mpumalanga’s Arion Fraser, returned home from the youth championships in Chita without a win at the weekend.
Their performance fell short of emulating the heroics of the 2025 team, which produced a gold medallist when KwaNojoli’s (formerly Somerset East) Ayabonga Meko claimed the honours in the 57kg.
Competing for the first time at international level after dominating the national championships in three successive years, Gijana, 18, found the going tough at elite level when he dropped a unanimous decision to foe Matvey Shestakov in their 63.5kg category.
Fraser, another gold medallist at the national championships in Cape Town in July, was rescued by the referee in his 67kg clash against Israeli Sameeh Zoabi.
The losses capped a dismal showing by African countries, which fielded 18 boxers, with Zambian Daniel Mwanza the only gold medallist in the flyweight division.
In fact, Zambia, one of nine African countries at the games, was the most successful as it claimed two medals, with Clement Zulu winning a bronze medal to join the other two bronze medallists, Abdourahim Mohamed from Comoros and Angolan Kelson Neto.
Sanabo said Gijana and Fraser were sent to Russia to gain international experience, which would serve them well in future championships.
“Our objective is to empower our boxers at a young age to be ready for the rigours and challenges of international championships,” the body said.
“Winning a medal is a bonus, but experience acquired is vital for their future development.”
However, there were concerns over the lack of preparation for the two boxers, as they only camped for two days under the tutelage of coach Johannes Prinsloo before they departed on Friday.
The prize money offered at amateur championships has made competing at the games worthwhile, with Mwanza’s heroics netting him $6,000 (R97,759) from the more than $160,000 (R2.6m) prize money allocated for all medal winners.