R’fontein girl makes boxing history
A 16-year-old female boxer will be participating in the 2017 Commonwealth Games for the first time in SA history and ... she's from Randfontein!
Randfontein will go down in the history books for being the first town in South Africa to have one of its female boxers participate in the Commonwealth Games.
Amorie Gonsalves, 16, has been hand-picked by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to represent the country at the 2017 Commonwealth Games in Nassau, Bahamas.
The young boxer took home the gold in her weight class at last year’s SA Boxing Championships in the Western Cape. Not only was she triumphant over the other girls in her weight class, she also won the Best Female Boxer of the Tournament trophy for standing out above the rest.
Amorie’s boxing statistics
• Number of years boxing: 11
• Stance: Orthodox
• Style: Technical
• Weight: Featherweight (57kg)
• Number of fights: Unknown
She found out about qualifying for the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, 7 March, when it was announced at her club, the Randgate Boxing Club, with all her fellow boxers and mentors present.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. I’m excited and scared. There are a lot of technical boxers out there. This means training. Non-stop training,” Amorie said.
Her coach and father, Willie Gonsalves, who is also head coach of the club, said she has a rest week starting from the announcement, but after that she will be training intensively.
He is still in the process of working out her training schedule, but so far he has indicated that Amorie will be training for two hours every morning, which includes an 11km run.
“I have to look at the weather on that side of the world when the games are on so we can tailor her training. If it’s hot there, then she will have to train at the hottest time of day here. If it’s cold, she will have to train very early in the morning to get used to the temperature,” Willie explained.
Willie said she will have to be broken down in order to be built up for the games, but he does not want her to be exhausted by the time she competes. He said the key is balance, which includes her school work. This year she is in Grade 11 at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen (Jannas).
If Amorie can secure a spot for herself in the top three at the games, she will automatically qualify for the 2017 World Boxing Championships in August and the 2020 Japan Olympic Games.
The club is now looking for sponsors who will back Amorie at the games as well as raise funds for Willie and her mother to go with her to support her. They need to raise funds for flights as well as for accommodation in the Bahamas.
To go down in the history books with Amorie and the Randgate Boxing Club by being a sponsor, contact Willie on 083 235 2271.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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