By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

ALL Africa Games (AAG) bronze medallist Ben Muziyo has secured a scholarship at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Boxing Academy in Talgar, Kazakhstan to boost his quest for qualification for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
Muziyo could realise his Olympic dream with a good showing at the Africa and World championships in Cameroun and Qatar respectively, which are the only remaining qualifiers.
Zambia Boxing Federation (ZBF) president Thomas Chileshe said yesterday that Muziyo, who bagged a bronze medal at the 2015 AAG in Congo Brazzaville, qualified for a scholarship following his impressive performance at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
Muziyo won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
Only boxers rated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are admitted for scholarships at the Boxing Academy which is a specialised centre of excellence for national federations that are affiliated to AIBA.
“We are happy as a federation to see one of our boxers awarded this scholarship, this will definitely boost his chances of qualifying to the Olympic Games.
“We submitted three names that included Mbachi Kaonga and Bwalya Lumbwe but only Muziyo was recognised based on his Glasgow display,” Chileshe said.
The Academy provides the most modern training facilities and programs for the development of pugilists.
Chileshe said Muziyo is expected to leave for Kazakhstan next month, where he will be receiving high level training until next year’s Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Chileshe said ZBF would intensify preparations for the other three boxers that would be identified ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.
“We are not going to close the season because we want to ensure that boxers who will be selected for intensive training are prepared adequately,” he said.