Road to Paris 2024: Tukamuhebwa falls to tormentor for the fourth time

The highly experienced 36-year-old boxer and three-time Olympian dashed Uganda's hopes for Olympic qualification at the Dakar qualifiers with a 4-1 victory over Tukamuhebwa in the 63.5Kg semi-final bout on the evening of August 14th. 

Tukamuhebwa, the last remaining Ugandan in Dakar, failed to break the jinx against his tormentor Richarno. In their fourth meeting in the past four years, Tukamuhebwa found himself on the losing side once again, and the outcome was no different in Dakar. 

Richarno had previously emerged victorious with a score of 5-0 against Tukamuhebwa at the 2019 Rabat Africa Games in Morocco, the 2022 Africa Elite Men's and Women's Championships, and the Maputo quarterfinals. 

He further solidified his dominance over the Ugandan captain in the light welter category at the 2023 Africa Elite Men's and Women's Championships in Yaounde, putting an end to Tukamuhebwa's campaign. 

Uganda sent three boxers to the Tokyo Olympics and now looks forward to better performances in other qualification pathways to Paris. 

Prior to the tournament, Pulse Uganda Sports reported that the sport was engulfed in boardroom politics, with political clashes between the Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF), National Council of Sports (NCS), and the Uganda Olympics Committee (UOC). 

Uganda was supposed to send 13 boxers to the qualifiers but ended up traveling with only six due to a selection drama that unfolded leading up to the tournament, resulting in UBF president Moses Muhangi withdrawing interest from the competition.