Former boxing star Kennedy Kanyanta wants team Zambia to move on quickly after an uninspiring performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
Team Zambia came back home minus a medal after participating in women football, boxing, Judo, Swimming and athletics.
Kanyanta, who won the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the men’s flyweight division and bronze at the 2007 All Africa Games, said Zambia must pick lessons from the Olympics.
“We should not put our heads down. We should put our heads up and forge ahead,” Kanyanta said by phone from his Mufulira base.
“We need to see to it that we improve where we failed and get back to the drawing board,” the boxing coach said.
Kanyanta is also calling for improved sports infrastructure in the country as a way of raising sports standards.
“All we are looking for is to improve and start reaping medals at such sporting events, we need to improve the sporting infrastructure,” he said.
“We need to get close to where other countries like Namibia and Botswana are. We have seen many infrastructures turned into beer halls or private facilities,” Kanyanta said.
Namibia reaped silver and team Botswana went back home with a bronze medal.
Mr. Kanyanta ,thats the problem because you just want to move on after another dismal performance. You need to review the performance of each tream and come up with ways to improving,
Overall sports in Zambia under pf has been a disaster. The adminstration of each sports code is pathetic.
You don’t just walk into the Olympics and grab a medal. It takes years of preparation and participating in international competitions.
The first thing to do under a new admistration is to reoganise sport administration then train or recruit experts to help train the sportsmen and womenMr. Matete for example needs to be equiped with the latest training methods in Athletics. Re introduce sports codes from primary school.
Get sponsorships from private companies. Let our Athlets actively participate in…
Let our Athlets actively participate in the diamond meetings. It’s not difficult to train a team of relay teams and allow them to take part in the World Athletics competion. Botswana is doing it and the results are there to see.
The commonwealth championships are in Birmingham from the 28th July to the 8th of August 2022. It’s eaxactly a year from now and preparations have to commence immeditely the new government is sworn in and the sports minister is appointed.
Only Kenya ,Ethiopia and Uganda did Africa proud at these Tokyo Games.Egypt ,Ghana,Botswana and Namibia get hounorable mention too.
I think Mufulira should compete alone separately from under performing Zambia
I think Mufulira should compete alone separately from under performing Zambia.
Agreed all the way from Kenya
Mediocre coaches, lack of infrastructure, zero self confidence in self, poor and Inadequate diets, and you expect Zambia to win??
Inspire all community sports activities to organise in multi sport clubs. Arrange safe training for children and youth to have fun and develop skill in the disciplines they love. Sport will grow fast all over because children and youth love physical activities. Then a broad base of skilled sporting boys and girls will compete to qualify for Olympics and surely there will be medals for zambia. There is no magic here just getting eager communities organised. Ministery of sport will help with material on how to get broad based sports clubs started by community initiatives.