Namibia wins boxing gold, not South Africa

WINDHOEK – The Namibian boxing team is the overall winner of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) Zone Six Youth Games, and not South Africa, as reported earlier.

Joe Kaperu, who was the official in charge, told Nampa on Thursday that after a recount, it emerged that Namibia came out tops with 23 points while South Africa ended second with 21 points, followed by Zambia in third place with 10 points. According to Kaperu, the team standings should be based on points and not the number of gold medals.He said points were allocated to individual participants, adding that it should be taken into consideration how many boxers a country has and how far these boxers progress during the tournament.He added that the final decision to award Namibia the gold medal was guided by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Rule 28, which states that for every match won each boxer shall gain two points for his team and for every match lost, each boxer shall gain one point for his team except in the case of a disqualified boxer, who shall gain no points.Kaperu said he had communicated the findings to the Zone Six Local Organizing Committee.Botswana ended fourth with nine points, followed by Swaziland in fifth place with nine points, Lesotho in sixth place with eight points, Angola in seventh position with seven points and at the bottom of the table is Mozambique in eighth place with just three points.South Africa dominated in the other events which included tennis, women football and athletics.Both their men and women basketbasll teams were sent home after they failed to meet the required ages.South Africa, who also won last year”s Games, will be the host in 2008.- NampaAccording to Kaperu, the team standings should be based on points and not the number of gold medals.He said points were allocated to individual participants, adding that it should be taken into consideration how many boxers a country has and how far these boxers progress during the tournament.He added that the final decision to award Namibia the gold medal was guided by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Rule 28, which states that for every match won each boxer shall gain two points for his team and for every match lost, each boxer shall gain one point for his team except in the case of a disqualified boxer, who shall gain no points.Kaperu said he had communicated the findings to the Zone Six Local Organizing Committee.Botswana ended fourth with nine points, followed by Swaziland in fifth place with nine points, Lesotho in sixth place with eight points, Angola in seventh position with seven points and at the bottom of the table is Mozambique in eighth place with just three points. South Africa dominated in the other events which included tennis, women football and athletics.Both their men and women basketbasll teams were sent home after they failed to meet the required ages.South Africa, who also won last year”s Games, will be the host in 2008.- Nampa