Top Lesotho boxer, Arena Pakela, has reaffirmed his decision to quit the sport after failing to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games starting next month in Paris, France. Pakela’s dream of gracing the global Games evaporated at a qualifying event in Busto Arsizio, Italy, in March and he decided it was time to hang up his gloves afterwards.
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TThat heartbreak in Italy followed close on the heels of another setback last September when the 26-year-old fell just short at the African Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal.
Pakela needed gold or silver in Dakar to book a ticket to Paris but he was forced to settle for bronze after losing to Steve Kulenguluka of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the semi-final.
Defeat in Italy, just a few months later, was the final straw.
In an interview with thepost on Tuesday, Pakela said his decision to quit boxing is personal and he wants to focus on other ways to take care of his family.
Pakela’s boxing took off in earnest in 2016.
The sport has taken its toll physically and consumed too much of his time, he explained.
“I have a lot of commitments to focus on, so I realised that I am losing a lot of time while in sports and I am ignoring other things,” Pakela said.
“I have a family that I am responsible for and I am doing all I can to take care of them. I would have had to stop boxing at some point.”
Pakela’s decision to retire made him pass over an Olympic qualifying tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, three weeks ago which would have offered him one last chance to make it to Paris.
Instead, he had already said goodbye to competing at the highest level, a decision that caught the Lesotho Boxing Association (LEBA) off-guard.
As one of the country’s brightest sports stars, Pakela was under the Lesotho National Olympic Committee’s (LNOC) Olympic Solidarity Scholarship for the past three years.
LEBA said they have not received an explanation from Pakela for his sudden retirement, other than that he is busy with other things.
Pakela, however, was quick to dismiss any idea that he was unhappy with LEBA and insisted his decision to retire is a personal one “driven by personal needs.”
He said the decision was made a long time ago but he only informed the association about it recently. Understandably, LEBA tried to change his mind but, in the end, had no choice but to respect his departure from boxing.
“We were still working perfectly fine, no complaints,” Pakela said of his relationship with LEBA.
“Of course they were surprised (when I told them I was retiring), they were not expecting it. I am not angry at all, we are at peace, and I just want to focus on other things,” he said.
Pakela has not closed the door on boxing and said he might return to the sport in a different capacity.
Pakela competed in the 71kg weight class and was Lesotho’s top rated fighter in the category. His CV included trips to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, the 2022 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and numerous African Championships.
His retirement comes at a time when he was considered one of Lesotho’s top prospects for this year’s Olympics and other major international events in years to come.
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