Paris 2024: Theophilus Allotey falls as all seven Ghanaian boxers crash out of Italy qualifying competition

Ghana’s last boxing hopeful to qualify for the Olympics, Theophilus Kpakpo Allotey, has lost to his South Korean opponent, Inkyu Kim, on a 3-2 split decision in the men’s flyweight division on Sunday.

Consequently, he failed to reach the quarterfinal and is now out of the competition at the ongoing WQT Boxing Road to Paris 2024.

He was among seven boxers the Ghana Boxing Federation took to the qualifying competition in Busto Arsizio in Italy.

The other six boxers were eliminated at the early stages of the competition, with Janet Acquah also being eliminated after a unanimous decision to Tapei’s Guo-Yi-Xuan in the women’s Flyweight -50Kg category on Friday.

The other five boxers also included 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist Samuel Takyi, all failing to progress to the semifinal that would have guaranteed them Olympic slots.

Despite these exits, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The team has another chance to secure Olympic slots at the upcoming qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand, in May.

They now have to turn their attention to the 2023 African Games boxing competition which is set to start on March 15 in Ghana.