Nairobi, Jan. 22 -- Kenya's boxing team preparations for the Africa qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have gone a notch higher at the Kenya Police Service Mathare Depot, Nairobi County.

The teams that had gone through strength and conditioning sessions since reporting for training 10 days ago, shifted to gloves work with pads and punching bags starting Monday.

The squad of 27 boxers - 18 men and nine women - are shaping up for the Africa qualifiers slated for February 20-29 at the International Expo Centre, Dakar, Senegal. The squad is being handled by six tacticians led by head coach Benjamin Musa.

A final team of eight men and five women will be named before the end of this month for a two-week residential training in Nanyuki befo...