02 Aug 2022

Botswana boxer, Rajab Mohammed, will take to the ring with England’s Kiaran Macdonald in the quarter finals of the men’s flyweight category at the Commonwealth Games today.

The high-flying Mohammed set a date with Macdonald after an empathic victory in the preliminary round of the round of 16 matches in Birmingham Monday night.

He defeated Qaiyum Ariffin of Malaysia by a resounding 5-0 undisputed decision.

Mohammed will now face a mammoth task against the flashy and stylish Macdonald, who will be buoyed by his silver medal at the European championships in May.

Macdonald was also impressive at last year’s World Championships in Belgrade.

He beat Sri Lankan Ranj Seneviratne to reach the quarterfinals.

However, Mohammed will prove a hard nut to crack as he displayed specks of his old form against the Malaysian champion.

Speaking in a post-match interview, Mohammed said he was excited about his form and the level of competition at the Commonwealth showpiece.

He said he wanted to knock out his opponent, but felt his jab was not as fierce as he wished.

Head coach, Thebe Setlalekgosi, said their preliminary bout went according to plan.

He said they had executed a proper defensive and offensive match after video reviews of their opponent.

He was excited that Mohammed followed their game plan, adding his team was fine-tuned and raring to reach the medal booth.

In other bouts lined up for the Botswana team, Lethabo Modukanele will face Pushpakumari Nadeeka of Sri Lanka today in the women’s over 48kg division.

Aratwa Kasemang will take on Nigerian, Cynthia Ogunsemilore, in the women’s lightweight division tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Botswana’s medal hopes in the men’s boxing featherweight division were dashed as George Molwantwa lost 2-3 in his second-round bout against New Zealand’s Alex Mukuka on Sunday.

Molwantwa had inched to the second round after a 4-1 victory against Uganda’s Jonathan Kyobe in the preliminary round. ENDS