By FRANCINA CHOMBA  –
AFTER failing to send a team at the 2014 King’s Cup in Morocco because of financial constraints, the cash-strapped Zambia Boxing Federation (ZBF) is now targeting the 2014 Zone Six Games in Zimbabwe.
Zambia’s boxers minted six medals which included three gold, two silver and one bronze at the 2012 edition hosted in Lusaka.
Zimbabwe will stage this year’s zonal games in Harare in December.
ZBF president Thomas Chileshe said in an interview in Kitwe yesterday that the federation could not afford to miss the Zimbabwe trip because it was a fertile platform to expose young boxers.
Chileshe said despite the poor inflow of sponsorship, the ZBF was determined to compensate for the King’s Cup failed trip.
“We need to motivate our boys by giving them full support even as they prepare for the forthcoming competitions in Harare.
“As a federation, we will ensure that the team travels to Zimbabwe because we are concentrating on the under-20 team,” Chileshe said.
Meanwhile, Chileshe said preparations for the 2014 Women’s World Boxing Championships billed for November 15 to 25 in Jeju, South Korea, are progressing well.
Chileshe said the four boxers Jane Mulenga, Sally Mwape, Sara Mbawa and Miriam Daka, who were drafted in the provisional squad to compete for two slots, were shaping up well.
He expressed happiness that the Korea would be fully sponsored by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA), who will cater for accommodation and air tickets while ZBF will meet allowances for the travelling party.