Two Nigerian boxers have been eliminated from the ongoing Road to Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ifeanyi Onyekwere suffered a points decision defeat against Dmytro Lovchynskyi of Ukraine in the Men’s +92kg (Super-heavyweight) round of 32 on Wednesday. Following suit was Blessing Oraekwe, who lost by unanimous points (0-5) to Ani Hovsepyan of Armenia in the women’s 66kg round of 32.

Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the Olympics now rest on three remaining female boxers: Zainab Adeshina (50kg), Patricia Mbata (75kg), and Elizabeth Oshoba (57kg).

The underwhelming performances by Team Nigeria at the qualifiers in Thailand have reduced the chances of the country’s athletes earning a share of the recently announced prize money for medalists at the Paris Games. The International Boxing Association made the announcement despite not being involved in the competition at Paris 2024.

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