African Games boxing silver medallist, Abdulafeez Osoba told www.aclsports.com that he was robbed in the final of the men’s welter (69kg) held at the Al Amal Indoor Sports Center in Morocco.
Mauritius’ Merven Clair beat Abdulafeez Osoba 4-1 in the men’s welter (69kg) at the 12th African Games in Morocco.
Osoba said his target was to bag the gold medal for his coach, fans and well wishers who have been supportive to him.
He said, “I give thanks to Allah for the silver medal but my target was the gold medal. Everyone including observers and officials knew I was robbed in the final. I did everything humanly possible to stop my opponent but the judges did their worse.
“Same thing happened when Egypt fought Congo in the 91kg fight before the Congolese staged a protest which made the finals halt for about 30 minutes”.
Osoba revealed to www.aclsports.com that his next aim is to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and return with a medal.
He said, “I am still disappointed I lost the final to my opponent but Allah knows best; everything in this world happens has a reason. I am going further and planning to represent Nigeria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a dream of winning a medal.
Abdulafeez Osoba was making his first international debut in an international boxing event.
So happy for this brother. We do pray together at their Mosque in New Garage Bariga and never knew he’s a boxer. Continue to make Nigeria Proud. Weldone