GOG trying to get Boxers home from Cuba

Mar 23, 2020 Sports

– GBA President Visits Quartet of Olympic hopefuls last Tuesday

Guyanese Olympic hopefuls, Colin Lewis (Captain), Desmond Amsterdam, Dennis Thomas and Keevin Allicock are still in Cuba where preparation for the now cancelled Olympic Qualifiers which was set for Argentina from March 26 to April 3, was cut short due to Coronavirus.
The quartet and their Cuban Coach Francisco Hernandez Roldan were scheduled to return to Guyana Thursday after completing their three-month sojourn which was in preparation for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan from July 24 to August 9 this year.
The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) was informed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) that the Americas Olympic Qualifier for boxing has been cancelled because of fear of the spread of the coronavirus.
The Olympics is not yet postponed since IOC president Thomas Bach said at a meeting on Friday that it is too early to make any decisions about the Games which is still four months to go.
Unfortunately, due to Virus, which has already claimed the life of a Guyanese woman who died two days after she arrived from the USA, the two International Airports here have been closed for two weeks, leaving the Boxers stranded in the Spanish Speaking Island.
“The Guyana Government is trying to get them back to Guyana, the GOA made a donation and the Government is having them sent to Havana soon,” informed President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle.
Ninvalle said the GBA is happy with the input from the Government and GOA.
“The Government and the GOA are the ones responsible for them going to Cuba and they are now joining hands to bring them back,” disclosed Ninvalle who paid a visit to the four Boxers last Tuesday.
“I visited the Boxers in Santa Clara last week Tuesday and they are in high spirits and doing well,” Ninvalle informed.
Cuba, the largest Caribbean Island, has won the second most boxing medals (73 medals, 37 gold) in the history of the Olympics.
Ninvalle said the Cuban trip was aimed at giving the Boxers every opportunity to properly prepare for this year’s Olympic qualifiers.
Mike Parris is the only Boxer from the English Speaking Caribbean to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Light Heavyweight John Douglas, who lost to Stipe Drvis of Croatia in 1996 when the referee stopped his first round contest in second round, was the last Guyanese boxer to qualify for the Olympics. (Sean Devers)