In Nis, Serbia
To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day here in Serbia, the Balkan nation’s Ministry of Defence has been handing over gifts to women serving in the military.
Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic on Friday presented flowers and special gifts to 150 women working in the Serbian Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence at a special ceremony held at the General Jovan Miskovic Barracks in the capital city, Belgrade.
The orchids, cards and other gifts were presented to female cadets, military school students, service volunteers and Military Medical Academy patients with the simple message:
“Dear ladies serving in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, Thank you for serving your country with dedication, knowledge and bravery. Your role is priceless, and your commitment immeasurable. Happy Women’s Day.”
And as Serbia joins the world in celebrating the International Women’s Day, Kenya’s female boxers will hope to make the country proud when they take on the world at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships that start here on Sunday from 2pm, local time (4pm Kenyan time).
The eight fighters that made the long trip epitomize the great strides Kenya’s women athletes have made since independence, very much aligned to the International Women’s Day ethos of economic, political and social equality between men and women as declared when March 8 was designated as the International Women’s Day in 1917 and cemented, 50 years ago, by the United Nations’ proclamation of 1975 as the International Women’s Year, inking the March date for annual reflections.
Kenya’s Team Manager here, Lydia Gathoni Kinyua, is marking the day with a huge sense of pride and satisfaction, first having been elected Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) First Vice President a week ago and, second, leading a full Kenyan women’s team to their fifth global competition in this southern Serbia city of Nis.
The eight members of the women’s “Hit Squad” are light flyweight Veronica Mbithe, Lencer Akinyi (flyweight), Amina Martha (bantamweight), Pauline Chege (featherweight), Emily Juma (lightweight), Cynthia Mwai (light-welterweight), Friza Anyango (welterweight) and Elizabeth Andiego (light-heavyweight).
Akinyi, Juma and Mwai are debutants on international duty with 38-year-old team captain Andiego the most experienced squad member having featured at the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the middleweight division following her debut in the ring almost 15 years ago in September, 2010.
Kinyua’s love for boxing blossomed in the 1990s while she worked in Laikipia County and was lured into the sport by John Wachira, at the time the Second Vice Chairman of what was then called the Amateur Boxing Association of Kenya.
“I was working in Laikipia County at the time, and the sports officer there (John Wachira) introduced me to the sport which I quickly took up,” Kinyua, who is also the Secretary General of the Laikipia County Boxing Association reminisces.
“I was then trained as a referee and judge in the early 1990s and that’s how I ended up being in the sport.”
She sees Kenya’s presence at the International Boxing Association (IBA) global fights here as a befitting way to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day.
“The International Women’s Day means a lot to us especially now that we are celebrating it here in Serbia representing our country Kenyan as the national women's boxing team, and that we're celebrating this special day here joining hands with the least of the world,” Kinyua reflected on Saturday as the Kenyan girls held their morning workouts at their hilltop Nice City View hotel overlooking the picturesque Nice City whose dominant feature is the 151-kilometre Nisava River.
History has it that the city of Nis acquired its name from the Nisava River where, in the evenings, groups of romantic young men and women gather in the sunset by the riverside having beers while enjoying the scenery and exchanging mouthfuls of intimate promises, some never to be realised.
“The Boxing Federation of Kenya started the women’s league of which all women fighters compete to earn points,” Kinyua noted.
“We are also encouraging all counties to bring more women boxers to our national events. The future of women’s boxing in Kenya is bright and we are seeing competitions growing well and the number of female boxers steadily increasing,”
The competition will be in the following 12 weight categories: Minimumweight (45-48 kilogrammes), light flyweight (48-50kgs), flyweight (50-52kgs), bantamweight (52-54kgs), featherweight (54-57kgs), lightweight (57-60kgs), light welterweight (60-63kgs), welterweight (63-66kgs), light middleweight (66-70kgs), middleweight (70-75kgs), light heavyweight (75-81kgs) and heavyweight (81kgs and above).
The registration process by the IBA at the Nias Hotel in Nis has been meticulous with each delegation expected to present, inter alia, record books of each boxer, results of various medical tests, including Hepatitis ‘B’ and Hepatitis ‘C’, and HIV tests conducted within the last 12 months.
Also required from each boxer are medical certificates issued by the IBA within the last three months, duly filled anti-doping consent forms and a declaration on non-pregnancy, meaning expectant boxers would be ejected from the competition.
The tournament also has an age limit of 41 years with all boxers required to be accompanied by at least one certified IBA coach at ringside during the bouts to be held at the 5,000-seater Cair Sports Centre which was built in 1973 and reconstructed in 2011 to host the 2012 European Men’s Handball Championship.
The venue also hosted the 2012 Davis Cup tie between Serbia and Sweden, two years after Serbia’s most famous sports personality, tennis legend Novak Djokovic, led the nation to its first ever David Cup victory as an independent nation in 2010 by defeating Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils as Serbia won the final 3-2.
