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Four SA boxers chase medals

Ron Jackson - SuperSport

Johannesburg - The four South Africans who will be boxing at the Commonwealth Games in India have a tremendous legacy to live up to.

The boxing takes place from October 5 to 13 at the new Talkatore Indoor Stadium in New Delhi and many of the fights will be broadcast on SuperSport.

Since the first Empire Games, as the event was known then, in 1930 South Africans have won 15 gold, 9 silver and 10 bronze medals in boxing.

Had South Africa not been banned from the Games for 36 years, the medal count would have been considerably higher.

A record or 304 boxers are set to compete in India. At stake are 11 gold, 11 silver and 22 bronze medals.

They compete in these categories: Light-flyweight (over 46 and up to 48 kg), flyweight (51 kg), bantamweight (54 kg), featherweight (57 kg), lightweight (60 kg), light-welterweight (64 kg), welterweight (69 kg), middleweight (75 kg), light-heavyweight (81 kg), heavyweight (91 kg) and super-heavyweight (over 91 kg).

Africa will be represented by 118 boxers from 18 teams, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The four South Africans are Lebogang Pilane (48 kg), Papish Baloyi (57k g), Siphiwe Lusizi (69 kg) and Masana Manganyi (91 kg).

At the 2009 world amateur championships in Milan, Pilane, 23, competed in the 48kg category.

He won his first fight, beating Lui Magaiva of Papua New Guinea 13-4, but was eliminated 12-3 by Armenian Hovhannes Danielyan, who went on to win the bronze medal.

Pilane has won the SA light-flyweight title in 2009 and 2010 and is good bet to win a medal in New Delhi.

The 19-year-old Baloyi won the SA featherweight title last year. At the world championships he beat Mohammed Shahmeem of Fiji 23-1, but lost in the second series when he was beaten 13-3 by Shafick Chitou of Benin.

Welterweight Lusizi, 21, won the SA title in 2009 and 2010 but was eliminated in his first round at the world championships when he was beaten 17-9 by Botirjon Mahmudov of Uzbekistan.

Manganyi, 24, won the SA heavyweight title in 2009 and 2010 but also failed at the world championships when he was disqualified in the third round of his first bout, against Elchin Alizada of Azerbejan.

Despite their failure in Italy, the South Africans are expected to do well at the Commonwealth Games, where the competition is at a lower level.

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