Gold medalist and defending champion of the King of the Ring Boxing Challenge, Allan Oaike, settled for Silver medal after going down to Harrison Knew, the opponent he defeated last year.
The boxing tournament, which took place from 7-10 March 2024 in Sydney, Australia is a lead-up event in preparation for the Olympic Qualifier in May in Thailand.
Oaike took the ring as the defending champion. He was impressive with his punches and looked great in the ring; but failed to defend the title, settling for the Silver Medal.
Although this event is crucial for him in terms of preparation heading into the Olympic Qualifier, Peter Morrison labeled it as another warm-up match for him.
Morrison, who trained and prepared Oaike for the event said: “This event is to keep the fighters keeping their fitness up as they head into the Olympic Qualifier. He said this is just a warm-up tournament; it didn’t count for anything more than getting some international experience”.
However, the takeaway in the tournament is that Oaike realizes the areas that need improvement. Morrison said, moving forward, he will polish up on his weaknesses.
Meanwhile, PNG’s female fighter Sheila Yama also won a Silver Medal.
“It is a great learning experience for her, fighting against a different style of opponent,” said Morrison.
Oaike and Yama are looking forward to the upcoming Kokoda Cup Challenge and ultimately, the big one – Olympic Qualifier in May, hopefully qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.