By  Jacob Ajom

It was a bad night for Nigerian boxers as the country lost three  gilt edged opportunities to claim gold medals at the Games holding in Maputo.Incidentally, it was the final in the various categories and Nigeria had Ademuyiwa Kehinde (light welter), Lawal Lukman(light heavy) and Apochi Efetobor in the super heavy.

Kehinde took on a Cameroonian opponent while Lukman and Efetobor faced Algerian foes.When Kehinde emerged from the dressing room, he was full of promises. He gave out his best and was tied on 10 points apiece with his aggressive Cameroonian counterpart. But the referee handed the gold to his opponent. The technical explanation was that Cameroon’s Mulema Joseph earned the gold because he was more aggressive.

Then came the turn of Lawal Lukman. His case was different as his Algerian counterpart, Benchebla Abdelhafid who is an Olympic gold medalist showed class and dexterity. His precise punches were disarming and the Nigerian trailed throughout. Lukma’s loss was clear and even the Nigerian officials sitting by the ringside agreed with the judges when the bout ended with the Algerian amassing 18-8 points.

Expectations were still high even after the second successive loss. Nigeria’s Apochi Efetobor was the next on the cards. When he climbed onto the ring, his sheer size and confidence gave every Nigerian hope that he would save the night for his heart-broken compatriots.

The Nigerian was to face yet another Algerian. He began by giving the Algerian space but remained focused and threw occasional jabs that were precise. His early show gave promise and the large Nigerian contingent were cheering endlessly until the end of the first round. But when the scores were flashed 7-3 in favour of the Algerian, the enthusiasm among the Nigerian spectators dampened.

The second round was a one-sided affair as the Algerian scooped more points.

It was in the final round that Apochi Efetebor woke up from his slumber. He sent the Algerian to the canvas  twice but on each occasion, the Algerian survived the mandatory count and came back to the fight. Unfortunately, the Algerian had earned enough points, which were enough to beat Efetebor19-8.