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| ALL SMILES: Oriance Lungu |
By Mike Mubanga
She
is quiet and reserved, but loves to share her obsession for boxing with
everyone that has an interest in it.
At
25 years old, Oriance Lungu has emerged as Zambia’s female Olympic Games medal
hopeful.
Not
until sometime in August, Oriance was not known in the southern African nation
despite earning her fair share of success at Haringey Police Community Boxing
club in the United Kingdom.
But
thanks to the Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions (OQBP) connection made by her
cousin, Felix Konoso, Lungu’s dreams of representing and winning medals for
Zambia has been brought nearer.
“Training
with Oriental Quarries gives her a great opportunity to become a champion,
because I believe Oriental is the name of the game,” Konoso says
When
she came to attend trials at OQBP, she had a sparring session with African
Boxing Union (ABU) Bantamweight and World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF)
bantamweight Champion, Catherine Phiri.
“I
was so impressed that Zambia has been able to produce a well known professional
female boxer and she is doing quite well,” Lungu said in an interview with Mike
Mubanga Says.
‘We
had our first sparring first session; she has lots of powerful punches but made
me feel comfortable in the ring at their (OQBP) gym. I know that I will be able
to learn a lot from her and I hope I can add something to her that can make her
achieve more in her career.’
Catherine
had an own observations after the sparring session.
“She
was able to thrown five or six punches in a row, she’s a good boxer and I want
to learn all the tactics that she has brought from England,” said the soft
spoken Cathy .
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| SPARRING PARTNERS: Cathy and Oriance pose for a picture after the interview. - Picture by Jeremiah Chalwe |
Despite
fighting competitively for three and half years, Oriance did an undergraduate
Physics degree at Imperial College London and then went on to further her
studies at the University College London where she gained a Master’s degree in
Geophysical Hazards.
From
just seeing boxing as a hobby while her eyes dug deeper in the books, she has
managed to squeeze the sport in her school success; attracting comments from
critics that she is somewhat a hard-line person who wants to let it out in the
ring.
However,
Oriance says her motivation was to take up a sport that would stand out.
“It’s
a universal thing, people think we are savages but it is ridiculous because
boxing requires thinking of how you will outsmart your opponent and school
supplements that and I hope to win more medals for Zambia,” Oriance compliments.
The
degree holder in Oriance has encouraged Catherine Phiri to also do well at school.
“This has encouraged me a lot because way back
people used to think that boxers are savages but here is Oriance with a degree!
I also want to have a degree in order to remove the savage mentality,” Cathy
expressed herself.
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TAKE THAT: Lungu beats Csilla Csejtei to progress
to the 2015 England Elite Boxing Championships finals. - Picture courtesy of England Boxing
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But
out of all this, it is surprising that her mother, who never expected Oriance
to be in boxing, has never watched her fight. She is uncomfortable.
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| Mike Mubanga joins Cathy, Oriance and Sandra (far right) in the picture by Jeremiah Chalwe |
“At first I wasn’t happy with it but it was
her passion and there was nothing I could do about it,” recalled her mother.
‘Up-to
now I don’t go to watch her, I only watch her fights on TV and I don’t think
she would be comfortable seeing me watching her.’
Her
sister Sandra, who played football, netball and cricket in London, never
expected her to shine in the ring.
“She’s
overcome so many obstacles, studying physics and combining with boxing is
really amazing,” a cheerful Sandra ticks Oriance.
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| NEW FAMILY: from left to right: Cathy, Chris, Oriance, Mike, Oriance's mum, Sandra and Felix pose for a picture after an interview with Mike Mubanga Says. - Picture by Jeremiah Chalwe |
OQBP
Promoter Chris Malunga has a huge task now, a task to ensure that Oriance’s
dreams of fighting for the 50 year old nation is achieved.
“She
is skillful and deserves a national team place. I will work hand in hand with
the boxing federation and national boxing coach Kennedy Kanyanta who has already
assessed her,” Malunga explained.
