AFBC Boxing

🇫🇷 2024 Paris Olympic Games, July 26 - August 10

PINA, KHADIJA CARRYING AFRICA'S HOPES TODAY
▫️ The Cape Verdean boxer is in crucial semi-finals and Khadija in the quarters

Cape Verde's sensation David Pina and Morocco's world champion Khadija Mardi carry Africa's aspirations in today's 18-bout card featuring 10 semis and eight quarters.

Pina, after scoring an upset win over fancied Zambia's Africa flyweight king Patrick Chinyemba, meets Uzbekistan's world champion Hasanboy Dustamatov in flyweight semi-finals while Khadija battles world silver medallist from Australia Catlin Parker.

The 28-year-old Pina has been in scintillating form this year, and made his intentions known at the first world qualifiers in Busto Arsizio, Italy, where he shocked Spain's world bronze medallist Martin Molina with a 3-2 victory.

He failed to make it in Italy but carried his sparkling form to Bangkok, Thailand, in the second world qualifiers. A confident Pina, boosted by thorough preparations, displayed a textbook show to deservedly book his Paris Olympics ticket in style.

He's not shaken by the credentials of the big names in the flyweight class in Paris.

"I believe we're all in the same level, some of them are even afraid of fighting me," said Pina in a telephone interview from Paris.

Pina's victory over Spain's Molina is one of his highlights this year and says March 3, 2024, will forever remain etched in his record books.

"I'm so happy I won my first fight against a big name opponent whom many people thought would win easily," says Pina.

"He won the first round 3-2, my coach (Bruno Carvalho) then encouraged me in between the rounds, he told me I must win the fight because it's very important to our plans with him this year. I then took charge and won the second round, the third was even but I was more aggressive."

A father of two children, Hellen who's seven years old and three-year-old Miller, Pina made his presence felt in Cape Verde's boxing circles in 2013 when he won the national light-flyweight title.

"By then I was just 17 years old but I proved myself," recalls Pina who celebrates his 28th birthday next Wednesday, August 7, in Paris.

🇫🇷 2024 Paris Olympic Games, July 26 - August 10

WHO WINS AFRICA'S FIRST BOXING MEDAL IN PARIS TONIGHT?
▫️Zambia's Chinyemba and Cape Verde's Pina in a do-or-die quarter final battle today

Africa was already assured of one medal in the bag when Zambia's Patrick "Baddo" Chinyemba and Cape Verde's David Pina punched their way to the quarter-finals on Tuesday this week in the Paris Olympic Games.

What now remains to be known is who between the two stylish boxers will win the medal when they trade leather in the eagerly awaited bout tonight at the North Paris Arena.

It's fire for fire as boxing fans brace up for what promises to be an action-packed and entertaining bout between these two sons of Africa with almost similar boxing styles.

What's inevitable is that they'll have to put aside their African brotherhood and uncork bombs on each other in search of prestige and fame that accompanies an Olympic medal winner.

Chinyemba is the undisputed African flyweight king and has often told us in our interviews he has no opposition in Africa, and is boiling for a fight against boxers of his standard such as world champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan whom he is likely to meet in the semi-finals if he defeats Pina. Dusmatov is also in the quarters and favoured to get past Kazakhstan's Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and 2021 world champion Saken Bibossinov

The Zambian has defeated most of the leading African flyweights including Pina whom he outpointed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers in Senegal.

To make it the quarters, Chinyemba outpointed India's illustrious Amit Panghal while Pina saw off Thailand's Thitisan Panmot in the round of 16 bouts.

Besides doing Africa proud, both boxers have different motivational goals ahead of them.

Chinyemba is aiming to end Zambia's 40-year drought by winning their second Olympics boxing medal since the late Keith Mwila won their first medal - a bronze - and the only one so far at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics while Pina wants to win Cape Verde's first ever Olympics boxing medal.

✍🏼 AFBC Communications

.roberts.obe .pearl