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NZ boxers facing tough fight to raise funds for rescheduled Olympic qualifier in Jordan

January 28, 2020

The team of nine Olympic hopefuls had their plans ruined by the coronavirus outbreak in China.

New Zealand boxers have spoken about the hardship they now face after their Olympic qualifying preparations were rocked by the coronavirus outbreak in China.

A team of nine Kiwis had been preparing in Thailand before competing at the 2020 Olympic boxing qualifiers for Asia and Oceania in Wuhan, China on February 3-14.

But as the death toll in Wuhan rose, and hundreds infected globally, the IOC announced the qualification event in China was cancelled with a new venue to be announced. It has since been confirmed Amman in Jordan will be the new hosts with the event taking place March 3 to 11.

While it means the New Zealand Olympic hopefuls still have a shot at punching their ticket to Tokyo, they still face the difficult task of now raising funds for a second trip to make that dream a reality.

After arriving back in New Zealand, the team confirmed to 1 NEWS only two of the nine boxers receive government funding that will help with the extra travel and accommodation plans.

The rest are self-funded, some in serious debt after forking out for the recent camp in Thailand and cancelled tournament in China.

Women's 60kg boxer Troy Garton said they'll take each step as it comes.

"We only found out yesterday that Jordan was confirmed so we haven't even sat down and talked about it," Garton told 1 NEWS.

"[The additional costs] something I've pushed away until after tomorrow."

Another concern is the physical and mental condition athletes will be in should they make it to Jordan.

Since departing for Thailand on January 12, athletes were put through a rigorous training regime aimed to have them at their peak performance in early February.

They will now have to account for a month-long delay until the new tournament in Jordan.

Two-time Commonwealth Games champion David Nyika said it made the Thailand trip feel "anti-climactic".

"It's like, we went away expecting to go to this tournament, qualify for the Olympics, come back and get our Olympic numbers.

"It's a little bit disappointing we couldn't get it all done in one go but we're all in pretty good knick and ready for Jordan next month."

A total of eight men’s divisions (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and super heavyweight) and five women’s divisions (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight) will be contested at the Tokyo Olympics.

New Zealand has not competed in Olympic boxing since the London Games in 2012.

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