Guyanese boxing team off to Cuba

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has sent a reduced five-member team to two boxing tournaments and specialised training in Cuba.
The team, comprising boxers Dennis Thomas and Imran Khan of the Guyana Police Force gym, and Eon Bancroft of the Guyana Defence Force, will participate in the Cardova Cardin tournament from June 4-11, and the Roberto Balado competition on June 19-25.
They are being accompanied by coaches Francisco Hernandez Roldan of Cuba and Terrence Poole, who is also the Technical Director of the GBA.
The GBA was hoping to send a team of eight boxers and two coaches to Cuba, but due to financial constraints, it was forced to significantly trim the travelling contingent.
At a farewell ceremony for the team at the Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis gym in Albouystown on Saturday afternoon, Director of Sport Neil Kumar praised the efforts of the GBA in getting the boxers and officials to Cuba.
“I appreciate the efforts by the GBA to send a team to Cuba and having commended them on numerous occasions, I take this opportunity to do so again. They are the only national association to provide us with a plan to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil and when I spoke to Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, we decided we will support them to go to Cuba and not only compete, but also gain experience in their training,” Kumar said.
Speaking on the financial difficulties the GBA faced ahead of the trip, Kumar said, “The GBA is the only association to realise over Gy$500,000 for a tournament and that tells us of their seriousness, as it relates to the ‘Road to Brazil’ programme that the government has been talking about since last year. I know it would have been nice to send more than the three boxers to Cuba, but when I look at the three selected by the GBA, I see we have three good boxers.”
Kumar urged the trio to make the best use of the opportunity being presented to them, while reminding them that some of their opponents will be the best at this level, coming from Latin America, Argentina, Russia and Australia.
“This is what you have prepared yourself for, so go and make the best of this opportunity. You will be coming up against the best in the world, not only the Cubans alone, but Argentineans, Australians and even Russians, who are no pushover. So go, give of your best, focus on boxing win medals and remember, this is the beginning of the ‘Road to Brazil’ for you,” he pointed out.
President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, said while he is disappointed that a larger team could not have attended the two events, he is grateful for the support received in sending the five-member team.
According to Ninvalle, the GBA received and accepted an all-expenses paid invitation from the Russians to send a team to that country in September and cited the two tournaments in Cuba as an evaluation process for the boxers and the GBA as well.
“Since Roldan took up the challenge to become the head coach of the GBA, we have not competed in an international tournament, so certainly, the two tournaments in Cuba will be used by the GBA as an evaluation programme, in relation to our ‘Road to Brazil’ programme,” Ninvalle outlined. (Guyana Times)