By ADRIAN MWANZA

National boxing coach Wisdom Mudenda has called on the Zambia Boxing Federation (ZBF) to expedite preparations ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

He expressed concern over the delayed preparations and that the team needed to go into camp early if chances of them minting medals were to remain high.

Mudenda said he had drafted 15 boxers in the provisional team and that he was just waiting for feedback from the ZBF.

He said the boxers needed to start preparations early if they were to mint medals at the tournament which would have a number of good boxers.

Mudenda said they were supposed to go into camp but that they had not received feedback from ZBF.

“The team is supposed to start serious preparations because the Commonwealth Games are around the corner,” he said.

He said the boxers included Benny Muziyo, Mbachi Kaonga, Nkumbu Silungwe, Emmanuel Ngoma, Evaristo Mulenga, Oriance Lungu, David Mwale, Ben Banda, Juliana Kasonka, Rodwell Ngulube, Sylvester Sampa, Bwalya Lumbwe, Felistus Nkandu, Hilda Ngandwe and Hilary Kataya.

But ZBF president Kennedy Mubita said they were engaging stakeholders in order to ensure that they started preparations early.

Mubita in an interview said that they would engage a number of stakeholders to make it possible for them to go in camp because time was running out.

“Truly, we do not have time ahead of the tournament so we have engaged entities like the National Olympics Committee (NOC) to help facilitate if our dream of minting a number of medals was to be realised,” he said.

And Mubita said Zambia had been allocated five slots at the tournament and that the just ended international boxing tournament which was held in Livingstone was used to gauge the boxers.