Taveena Kum is first female boxer selected for Olympic Qualifier

Feb 09, 2020 Sports

Diminutive Taveena Kum moved into the history books of Guyana when she was recently named as one of five boxers selected by the Guyana Boxing Association for the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers in Argentina. The Canadian-Born Kum is the first female boxer ever selected to represent Guyana an Olympic Qualifier.

Taveena Kum

The Former Canadian national flyweight champion has joined Colin `Superman’ Lewis, Desmond `Dynamite’ Amsterdam, Dennis `Menace’ Thomas and `Lightning’ Keevin Allicock as the quintet expected to fly the Golden Arrowhead in Buenos Aries from March 26 to April 3.
GBA president Steve Ninvalle, in an exclusive interview with Kaieteur Sport yesterday disclosed that Kum, whose father was born in Guyana, has an impressive resume. “She is a former two-time Canadian flyweight champion, a silver medalist at the Women’s Continental Championship, Ringside World Championship Belt gold medalist and a silver medalist at the 2020 Brampton Cup Championships. Her selection brings a new dimension to boxing in Guyana and we expect much from her based on her experience,” Ninvalle said.
“I can, without a doubt of being contradicted, say that she is extremely excited about representing Guyana. Her selection alone is historic and I am confident that she will make an impact in Argentina,” Ninvalle, a vice president of the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) added.

Steve Ninvalle

In a release Kum said: “It is my dream to compete in the 2020 Olympics for Guyana. I am honoured to be representing the Guyana flag on the international boxing stage at the American Qualifiers in Argentina. Winning at these Qualifiers will entitle me to represent Guyana at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.”Guyana last qualified for the Olympics in 1996 through `Big’ John Douglas. Kum’s inclusion is likely to increase the chances of breaking the boxing jinx. The GBA has also sent Lewis, Amsterdam, Thomas and Allicock to Cuba for a three-month training stint in Cuba.
According to Ninvalle, all paper work leading to Kum’s clearance to represent Guyana was finalized last week. “Our executive has been working at this for some time with Miss Kum. We have engaged the Guyana Olympic Association and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both of these entities provided valuable support. I am also happy to inform that Miss Kum’s participation places no financial burden on the GBA as she will be covering expenses associated with airfare and accommodation and meals. We are happy to have her on board,” Ninvalle declared.
The GBA boss thanked the Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ivan Evelyn for unflinching support, while applauding the efforts of president of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control Peter Abdool.

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