Four boxers step into the ring today well aware it's now 43 years since Kenya last won a medal in the world boxing championships.
Kenyan boxers Joshua Wasike, David Karanja, Victor Odhiambo and George Cosby Ouma will be in action Tuesday on the second day of the 2021 AIBA Men's World Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
The draws for the biennial tournament were conducted on Sunday night at the Stark Arena.
Karanja, battles Ecuador's Luis Delgado, Odhiambo tackles India's Thapa Shiva, Ouma fights Belgium's El Mohar Ziad and Wasike meets Smialikau Uladzislau of Belarus.
It's in the same city - Belgrade - that Steve Muchoki and his compatriots registered Kenya's most impressive performance ever during the world championships in 1978.
Muchoki won Kenya's first and only gold medal so far in the global event with bantamweight Napunyi Oduori, featherweight George Findo and middleweight Stephen Moi missing medals by a whisker after being eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Hit Squad head coach Benjamin Musa believes his 13-man strong squad put the Tokyo Olympics bad performances behind them to hunt for medals at the biennial tournament.
"We gathered some vital lessons in Tokyo that helped us refine our tactics and I'm confident of a good performance in Belgrade," said Musa.
"Our experiences at the Tokyo Games, the Africa Zone 3 Boxing Championship and the international friendlies in Russia have made us even better," he added.