Namibia eyes Cairo World Challenger test
Namibia’s boccia team is preparing to take on top international athletes at the Cairo 2026 World Boccia Challenger in Egypt from 25 to 31 July.
Boccia is an emerging Paralympic target-ball sport, often compared to lawn bowls or curling.
The sport tests muscle control, accuracy and tactical strategy, with the objective of getting coloured balls, red or blue, as close as possible to a white target ball called the jack.
Boccia athletes are classified into different sport classes, known as BC classes, from BC1 to BC4, depending on the impact of their impairment on their ability to compete.
The country’s current boccia squad, led by certified regional boccia referee and national team head coach Selma Kandali Ndaitwah, concluded its training camp ahead of the international event last weekend.
The six-day camp, held alongside the country’s national Para Taekwondo team, took place at Jan Möhr Secondary School in Windhoek.
Namibia’s active boccia team is captained by Johannes Kahima (BC2), an African Championships bronze medallist who has represented the country in all three of its international outings in the sport.
African, world rankings
According to the World Boccia rankings, last updated on 15 May, Kahima is currently ranked third in Africa in his class and 36th in the world out of 100 athletes.
Namibia’s other African Championships bronze medallists are Aune Amutenya (BC4) and Prince Namundyebo (BC1), who are ranked third and fourth in Africa, respectively, and have both made two international appearances.
Amutenya is ranked 44th in the world out of 59 athletes, while Namundyebo is 62nd out of 88 athletes.
The trio’s bronze medals came from Namibia’s last outing at the Cairo 2025 World Boccia Africa Regional Championships in August, where Max Isak (BC2) made his international debut.
Isak is currently ranked seventh in Africa and 63rd in the world out of 100 athletes.
The team has since welcomed two additions: Selma Niilenge (BC2) and Ethan Amutjira (BC3), who joined in February and will both make their international debuts in July.
Amutjira competes with the aid of a ramp and mouth pointer, assisted by ramp operator Floriana Mathews.
The two new additions met the rest of the team during the training camp, where they were also introduced to the rules of the game and competition procedures.
Upcoming international outings
Coach Ndaitwah expressed pride in the athletes’ positions in the African rankings, noting that their standing is commendable given Namibia’s limited participation in international competitions.
“[There are events almost every other month], but we have only participated in three so far due to financial constraints.
“For this year, [we can only afford] to participate at the event in July and the Pilsen 2026 World Boccia Challenger in the Czech Republic from 7 to 15 September,” she noted.
Ndaitwah called on athletes with disabilities who are interested in the sport to reach out and get involved, noting that it is possible with the assistance of the Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC).
“These individuals need to be themselves and know that they can also participate in sports like boccia or Para Taekwondo.
“It’s possible. We’re actively trying to get the nation to notice this and see that it can also be done for them,” she remarked.
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