In a corner of the Khayamandi Sports Grounds a national boxing champion and members of the local boxing club meet weekly.
Despite not knowing anything about boxing when she joined the Khayamandi Boxing Academy in 2019, Mkhatala Olwethu (22) has since become a national boxing champion – twice.
She and the other young boxers joined the academy founded by Xolisani Thembani five years ago, after his dissatisfaction with his own boxing career.
“My career ended due to mismanagement,” he related. “I promised myself I will be a guide for others in the sport and decided to start the club. We started with eight boxers and took part in our first competitions that same year.”
Aside from coaching, Thembani also has a background in sports management which helps in his mission to guide the young boxers.
Nombulelo Ngolozana said the guidance includes social and mental aspects of the sport. “When I joined the club in 2021 I was struggling with my own mental health and wanted a way to be active and social. My aim was to be fit and active, and I didn’t know anything about boxing, but here I found a home.”
Thembani and Ngolozana run the academy, which has gone from strength to strength despite challenges. At the recent national championships of the South African National Boxing Organisation in Durban the club’s boxers shone, winning three bronze medals and one gold by Olwethu.
Ngolozana says it is wonderful to see the girls flourish in the male-dominated sport, adding the boxers are growing. “It’s more than coaching boxing here; we have to be educators and psychologists as well. The boxers have made this space their own, learnt to interact and gained so much confidence.
“This past tournament was the first time most of them had been on an aeroplane and stayed at a hotel. Now they have the opportunity to travel, make new friends and learn life skills.”
One of the club’s biggest success stories is Snalo Khuselo, who joined the club late last year. With only a few weeks of training under her belt, she participated in a district competition. Thembani initially thought Khuselo needed more training, but her performance changed the management team’s mind.
Khuselo’s hard work, focus and discipline “forced” management’s hand and she joined the rest of the boxers in Durban, where she emerged as the province’s best youth female boxer and won a bronze medal.
Looking to the future Thembani and Ngolozana say they want to buy more equipment and grow their network of sponsors. The academy has enjoyed the support of local businesses Gino’s and Niel Sauls Fresh Produce.
Thembani said they hope to create a space were the boxers can shine in the sport and glean other skills, as there is so much talent among the youngsters. “Mainstream education is not for everyone, because not all the boxers are academically gifted. We want to help them develop life-long skills.”
The club will host a Women’s Day event on Friday 9 August with female boxers from Hermanus, Khayelitsha, Paarl and Grabouw expected, but they are still looking for someone to step into the ring with Olwethu. “At this point no-one wants to take on the national champ, but we are hopeful,” Thembani said.
