Promising boxer Juma Miro out for six months due to injury, to miss 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers

Commonwealth bronze medalist Juma Miro is set to miss Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers following advice from a sports medical specialist that the boxer needs more than six months rest to fully recover from an injury.

This was revealed to Miro by the Canadian Sports Medical Experts during the Uganda-Canada Sports Medical clinic that ended Tuesday at Lugogo Hockey Grounds where over 200 injured sportsmen received treatment.

Juma Miro is one of the few Ugandan promising amateur boxers whose announcement to the big stage came in 2018 when he won bronze in the commonwealth games in Australia.

His sprouting career however took a sucker punch when he sustained a shoulder injury shortly after his return to Uganda.

He appeared to have fully recovered and attempted to step back inside the four corners for the qualifiers of the All Africa games earlier this year, only to be knocked out by Moses Kabuka in their fly weight bout in Lugogo, to deny him a place at the All Africa games in Rabat, Morocco.

Reflecting on the throbbing loss to his nemesis, the east coast boxing club boxer admits that the desire to represent his country on the continent drew him back to the ring yet he knew he wasn’t fully recovered.

“I could not strike my right that why I was knocked down during trials," Miro said.

Miro is one of the hundreds of Uganda athletes who were assessed by sports medicine experts from Canada at the just concluded sports medical clinic. He says the doctors advised him to stay out of the ring for at least six months.

“I can’t go boxing now, I have to follow and listen to doctors instruction and they have told me to rest for six months,” Miro says.

Miro now regrets hastening his return to the ring. “I am not happy because I am going to miss a big event. I only advise my fellow sportsmen and women to rest when they sustain injuries,” Miro concludes.

Over 250 injured athletes were able to receive medication and consultation treatment from Specialized Sports medicine doctors for the three days at hockey grounds, Lugogo. The clinic included sports men from football, basketball, and athletics, among others.