When Sikho Nqothole, a talented amateur boxer from Mthatha, won a gold medal in Cameroon last month, he thought his dream of representing South Africa at the Olympics in Rio would finally be realised.
Not only would he be testing himself against the best amateur boxers in the world, but he would have been the first ever boxer from the OR Tambo district to go to the Olympic Games.
But a few hours after touching down on home soil, his dream was shattered when he was told he would not be going to the Olympics anymore as the Olympic qualifying tournament in Cameroon had been downgraded. This meant he had to make way for the same boxers from other countries he had been beaten during the tournament.
While it would be normal for any boxer to go through a “normal” mourning process, the 21-year-old youngster has just one message for Eastern Cape boxing lovers.
“I am definitely going to the Olympics. I will work hard to realise that dream.”
But first, he has to win another gold medal in an international world games in Kazakhstan in June.
However, it’s not only he who believes he can still overcome the odds. His most loyal supporter, number one critic and mother Joyce Nqothole also believes that when the plane ferrying the South Africa Olympics team to Rio in Brazil leaves in August, her son will be on board.
She said Sikho had overcome many odds in his boxing life but each time, had come back triumphant.
“It was really disappointing to hear that he is not going anymore. But he is a fighter. He has been cheated many times before but came back even stronger. I have no doubt that he is going to the Olympics. I am not even worried, he will be there.”
The youngster who took up boxing in 2003, when his older brother forced him to go with him to a boxing gym, said he was disappointed at the way it was communicated as he had made many sacrifices to make sure he won the tournament in Cameroon last month.
“I put my studies on hold after passing Grade 12 last year. While many people were enjoying time with their families, I was out there pushing my body in training so that I could be ready for the continental tournament. Why did they even take us to that tournament and not to Kazakhstan straight away? Now I feel like I worked myself into the ground for nothing,” he said.
Nqothole also said he did not understand what the difference would be in Khazakhstan as the competition would include top boxers from the world.
“Where is the difference between those games and the Olympics if you are going to fight the same boxers that will be there?”
His boxing trainer Mthetho Dumezweni on the other hand, said he didn't understand why the tournament was downgraded. “Why did they have to go to Cameroon. What were they doing there exactly? They should have just taken them to those world qualifying tournaments.”
Dumezweni said they were pained but there was nothing they could do. “If he has to go so be it. It is really demoralizing how he found out.”
OLYMPIC DREAM TURNS INTO NIGHTMARE FOR EC BOXERS
Not only would he be testing himself against the best amateur boxers in the world, but he would have been the first ever boxer from the OR Tambo district to go to the Olympic Games.
But a few hours after touching down on home soil, his dream was shattered when he was told he would not be going to the Olympics anymore as the Olympic qualifying tournament in Cameroon had been downgraded. This meant he had to make way for the same boxers from other countries he had been beaten during the tournament.
While it would be normal for any boxer to go through a “normal” mourning process, the 21-year-old youngster has just one message for Eastern Cape boxing lovers.
“I am definitely going to the Olympics. I will work hard to realise that dream.”
But first, he has to win another gold medal in an international world games in Kazakhstan in June.
However, it’s not only he who believes he can still overcome the odds. His most loyal supporter, number one critic and mother Joyce Nqothole also believes that when the plane ferrying the South Africa Olympics team to Rio in Brazil leaves in August, her son will be on board.
She said Sikho had overcome many odds in his boxing life but each time, had come back triumphant.
“It was really disappointing to hear that he is not going anymore. But he is a fighter. He has been cheated many times before but came back even stronger. I have no doubt that he is going to the Olympics. I am not even worried, he will be there.”
The youngster who took up boxing in 2003, when his older brother forced him to go with him to a boxing gym, said he was disappointed at the way it was communicated as he had made many sacrifices to make sure he won the tournament in Cameroon last month.
“I put my studies on hold after passing Grade 12 last year. While many people were enjoying time with their families, I was out there pushing my body in training so that I could be ready for the continental tournament. Why did they even take us to that tournament and not to Kazakhstan straight away? Now I feel like I worked myself into the ground for nothing,” he said.
Nqothole also said he did not understand what the difference would be in Khazakhstan as the competition would include top boxers from the world.
“Where is the difference between those games and the Olympics if you are going to fight the same boxers that will be there?”
His boxing trainer Mthetho Dumezweni on the other hand, said he didn't understand why the tournament was downgraded. “Why did they have to go to Cameroon. What were they doing there exactly? They should have just taken them to those world qualifying tournaments.”
Dumezweni said they were pained but there was nothing they could do. “If he has to go so be it. It is really demoralizing how he found out.”
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