By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

BOXING coach Kennedy Kanyanta says he will not guide the national team to the Rio 2016 Olympic qualifier billed for March next year in Cameroon if the squad is not accorded adequate preparations.
Kanyanta said in an interview yesterday that he was frustrated by the lack of activity in preparing the pugilists for international assignments.
“It will not make sense for me to carry raw boxers for international assignments who have not undergone adequate preparations. It is frustrating for me especially, if one is trying to produce positive results.
“We failed during the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville because of poor preparations and if this trend continues, I would rather stay home than being part of a losing team,” Kanyanta said.
He said changes in the national team were inevitable if Zambia was to reclaim its lost glory in boxing on the international stage.
Kanyanta hinted that only two or three pugilists from the seven-man All Africa Games contingent will make it into the new look team that will be aiming at qualifying for the Olympics.
He has implored stakeholders to commit enough funds to the boxers in order to deliver the much anticipated results.
“We cannot prepare a boxer for a gold medal in 20 days, it takes three months to  declare a boxer fully ready for a competition because the first is called a sick month, where boxers need to recover while the second is for preparation and the third being a competition month. This period determines the readiness of a boxer,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kanyanta has hailed the Zambia Boxing Federation (ZBF) for contemplating to formulate a technical committee that will pick boxers for the national team.
He said identifying and nurturing talent was a huge undertaking that should be a responsibility of everyone.
“Having people in place to help me in identifying and nurturing talent is a good thing and I only hope that it will be implemented soon,” he said.