XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia – Day 9 |13 April 2015
Despite his young age, hard hitter Keddy Agnes will today carry the hope of the whole nation on his shoulders when he steps into the ring at the Oxenford Studios for his super heavyweight semifinal fight at the ongoing XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
At only 24 years of age, Agnes will enter the ring for a re-match against India’s Satish Kumar who had the last laugh in the semifinal of the inaugural Spicejet-sponsored India Open International Boxing Tournament held in January, after winning by RSC (referee stopped contest) in the second round.
The result was viewed as controversial by many, since there was no knockdown or any count of eight.
Already wearing a bronze medal ‒ awarded to both losing semifinalists ‒ following his 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Arsene Fokou Fosso of Cameroon, Agnes, who can be described as the poster boy of his generation, will surely be all out for revenge and to upgrade his silverware.
Known for his knock-out power, the fighter will enter the ring with a height disadvantage, standing at 1.77m, compared to Kumar who is 1.88m.
Four years younger than his opponent, Agnes will however have the weight advantage of 110kg, with Kumar weighing 98kg.
Victory today will compensate for Agnes who saw his Olympic dreams shattered when he lost to Nigeria’s EfeAjagba by technical knockout after a foot injury at the International Boxing Association (Aiba) African Continental Olympic qualifying event in Yaoundé, Cameroon in 2016.
A win will also see Agnes better the performance of his coach Rival Payet who won the bronze medal in the 71kg category at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada to become the country’s first ever medallist at the Games.
He will match boxers Gerry Legras (63.5kg) and Roland Raforme (91kg) who won a silver medal each in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998, but he can still go even further to become Seychelles’ first gold medallist at the Games.
Coached by Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu at the SSCB boxing club, Kumar reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 AIBA World Championships. The 28-year-old hails from Bulandshahar city in Uttar Pradesh, where his father is a farmer, and his elder brother works in the army. Kumar also joined the army in 2008, and began boxing a year later.