KNYSNA NEWS - Despite only having two years of boxing experience, 17-year-old Anathi Mbalo secured her first national title with a win at the SA Youth Boxing Championships last week.
Mbalo competed in the championships, held between 5 and 9 October at the Western Cape Sport School in Kuils River, in the light middleweight division (67 to 70kg).
In the final, she was up against Siphesihle Tandabanco from the Eastern Cape in bout number 55 of the championships.
The three-round fight went the distance, but Mbalo managed to do herself, her coach, and all those in attendance proud by defeating Tandabanco on points. This meant Mbalo was crowned a national champion for the very first time, having qualified for the national championships earlier this year.
Mbalo, a Grade 11 learner at Percy Mdala High School, belongs to Dam-se-Bos-based outfit Masiphakame Boxing Club, where she trains under the stewardship of coach Lwanda Madikane.
"I am so incredibly proud of her for her achievement," he said. "It has been a long hard road for us and we faced many challenges along the way. But she has overcome them all and prevailed as a national champion."
Mbalo was beaming with pride after her triumph. "I was nervous before the fight, but once the bell rang I was fine and focused," she said. "When I won on points I was so excited and so happy to be a national champion."
Challenges faced
The biggest challenge Mbalo and Madikane have faced in preparing for the national championships has been to find a safe and secure training facility. "We have had our facility broken into or damaged a few times now, and we simply cannot train there as it is unsafe and we cannot store boxing equipment there," Madikane said.
The facility, just outside the Chris Hani Community Hall, was broken into in June and boxing equipment was stolen. A case was opened at the police and according to Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie, no one has been arrested yet.
In response to the break-in, Madikane managed to procure a security gate through donations. But in the most recent incident the gate itself was stolen. Madikane again reported it to the police, but Pojie stated that no one has been arrested for this matter either. "Forensic experts combed the scene for clues but were unable to detect any positive fingerprints at the scene," he said.
Madikane then approached Knysna Municipality for assistance and was granted the opportunity to use the community hall to train. "But when we went to use the hall, the caretaker did not allow us to enter the hall. So we had to resort to training outside for the national championships," Madikane recounted.
In a response to KPH questions, municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt however indicated that "the boxing club was denied access on one occasion due to a paid booking by another applicant".
He also indicated that the municipality has procured materials to repair the training facility.
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