Two CPUT boxers who started boxing this year defied the odds as they won their preliminary rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals and went on to win the gold medals at the 2023 University Sports South Africa (USSA) National Boxing Championships, which were recently held at the Major Sports Hall, Bellville Campus.
The two boxers were Anelihle Bukwane and Hosea Mokgatla and CPUT was represented by 13 boxers (10 males and three females) in the three-day tournament. Overall, the hosts, CPUT received three gold medals, two silver and three bronzes. CPUT team manager, Mvemve Mdingi, who is also the USSA Boxing National Secretary, said: “The performance was magnificent considering the fact that majority of these boxers started boxing this year and therefore they are novice boxers.”
Mdingi also acknowledged the presence of USSA National President, Jerry Laka, as well as South African National Boxing Organisation President, Siyabulela Mkhwalo, the former Head of Department: Sports at CPUT. “He [Mkhwalo] congratulated both our performance and the way our competition was well organised.”
He continued: “The CPUT community should look forward to the most exciting year 2024 of boxing. We are pushing to make our institution the hub of boxing champions. We will be starting a boxing league that will feature well-trained boxers from CPUT, University of the Western Cape and Western Cape ranks.
Bulelani Mlakalaka, Sport Development Officer: Rugby, Boxing and Tennis, said: “I must say it’s [a] great honour to do this especially when the events are successful like this USSA Boxing. It’s a lot of work because I must lead a group of my CPUT colleagues coming in from different departments to make sure that we have a successful tournament.” Mlakalaka who was the event organiser, is happy with the achievement of the boxers although “we did not win the tournament, but we won the trophy as one of the best performing universities in the tournament”. Overall CPUT became number four out of the 12 universities.
As an event organiser, he made sure that the event was a success by working in hand to hand with all the stakeholders in the Local Organising Committee (LOC). “As an event organiser you make sure that you uphold the values of the USSA and CPUT by making sure that all the participating universities are happy at all times despite challenges I might had during the planning phase and during the tournament.”
He thanked the CPUT management for allowing Sport Department to host the USSA Boxing event and all of his LOC colleagues for making sure that CPUT hosted one of the best national student athletes’ tournaments. “For our CPUT community, thank you so much for always supporting all your teams. As Sport Department we strive for #OneSmartCPUT.”
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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