Katende blames Ssemitala loss on ill-health, Ssekabembe eyes medal

Boxing.

Bantamweight Nassir Bashir defeated Tanzanian Emiliani Polino to become the second Bomber after Ssekabembe to make the quarterfinals yesterday.

Bombers coach Dick Katende has said his captain Rogers Ssemitala suffered an early elimination from the Commonwealth Games due to ill-health.
Ssemitala lost his first flyweight fight to Sri Lankan Anurudha Rathnayake at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference gym on Sunday.
Unknown to the coach, Ssemitala went into the fight battling diarrhea. “I think he feared to tell me because he knew I wouldn’t let him fight in such a state,” Katende who watched the fight from the stands with Nigerian coaches handling the Ugandan pugilist, said.
“He shouldn’t have fought. He only told me after that he had diarrhoea.”
Added Katende: “You also saw for yourself that he was warned twice by the referee, which cost him two points. Maybe he could have won without the points-deduction.”
The three judges called the fight 28-27, 28-27 and 29-26 in favour of the Sri Lankan, who gained psychological advantage after Ssemitala dropped his glove in the first round.
The day got worse for the Bombers as Solomon Geko was also beaten by Yakita Aska of Antigua and Burbuda in the light heavyweight category.
The absence of Katende from the ringside as he lacks the requisite three-star qualifications, seemed to take a toll on his fighters as they committed a mistake too many.
Today, super heavyweight Michael Ssekabembe has a good chance of boxing his way into the medal bracket when he faces Ghanaian Haruna Osumanu.
If he wins the contest, the UPDF fighter will be assured of a bronze. “I don’t know the Ghanaian; I haven’t even seen him in the Games Village. I am only waiting for him in the ring,” said Ssekabembe.
Yesterday, Bantamweight Nassir Bashir defeated Tanzanian Emiliani Polino to become the second Bomber after Ssekabembe to make the quarterfinals.
The Kampala Boxing Club captain Bashir had a splendid start, outpointing the Tanzanian in the first round and inflicted a head cut on him in the second. Polino, however, recovered impressively to match the Ugandan in the latter stages and also got him bleeding on the face although it was too late to save the fight.