/ 15 September 1999

MATHYILA QUALIFIES FOR OLYMPICS

SOUTH African boxer Phumzile Mathyila beat Ethiopian Endakachew Endelcher in Johannesburg on Tuesday to move into the All Africa Games semi-finals and qualify for the 2000 Olympics. Mathyila, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in Malaysia last year, had to dig deep to snatch a 7-6 points victory in a tough bout. “I almost lost it, but I am happy that I won and qualified for Sydney,” Mathyila said. “I was up against a tough boxer.”