Young boxer's Olympic dream dashed

An administrative bungle has cost promising Western Cape amateur boxer Asemahle Sentile the opportunity to represent South Africa at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.

Sentile, 16, was expected to do well enough at the national boxing trials in Pretoria to earn a place in the Olympic squad, but a lack of funds meant he was unable to make it to the trials.

The Western Cape's two other candidates, Sandiso Kota and Sinethemba Blom, were able to go to Pretoria because they are students at the University of the Western Cape, which paid their fare.

The South African National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo), which organises the trials, blamed the Western Cape sports department for Sentile's failure to turn up at the trials, but the sports department shifted the blame to the boxing organisation's Western Cape branch.

The organisation's president, Andile Mofu, said: "When provincial structures are not able to assist financially, it becomes a very serious issue for us because we rely on them. "

But Sport MEC Theuns Botha said the request from the boxing organisation's Western Cape branch reached his department only on February 13.

"This has been a trend from Sanabo WC that they come to the department at this time on an annual basis. In 2014, we facilitated and helped the Western Cape boxing structures to hold their own AGM where the new exco was elected.

"During the elections our office highlighted the fact that it was concerned that boxing in the Western Cape was not in a good state," he said.

"Sanabo WC was urged to look at the Sanabo national plans for the forthcoming year so that they could apply for these funds timeously.

"The department has a funding process that starts with applications in April each year and ends with the closing of applications in September...and no application was received this year or the next financial year."

The trials start tomorrow and end on Saturday.