Guyana shines at OECS Boxing Championships

Guyana finished an impressive second overall in the Invitational Category at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Boxing Championship, which concluded on Sunday at the Vigie Sports Complex in Castries, St. Lucia.

Standouts Abiola Jackman and Ryan Rogers won individual accolades.

Although Trinidad and Tobago won the Invitational Category with 33 points owing to a significantly larger delegation of approximately 16 pugilists, Guyana ended with 14 points, following an impressive haul of four golds and two silvers despite only fielding a fight roster of 6. Barbados rounded out the top three on 13 points.

Jackman (Elite) and Ryan Rogers, bantamweight (Schoolboys), walked away with the Best Female and Junior Boxers awards to cap off a fine performance from the Guyanese, whose travelling delegation, which was supervised by national coach Lennox Daniels, also featured: Alesha Jackman, middleweight (Elite – Gold); Shakquain James, lightweight (Junior – Gold); Angelina Rogers, bantamweight (Junior – Silver); and Junior Madray, 31–33 kg (Schoolboys – Silver).

Meanwhile, Lawrence Assanah and Germain Craig accompanied the team to serve as referees and judges, while Elton Chase acted as the tournament’s Technical Delegate.

Terrence Poole, Technical Director of the Guyana Boxing Association, said, “It was a good outing because all six came back with medals; we went for the exposure, which was the primary goal, and I think the performance was good. I think it was good for boxing in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Trinidad had a huge contingent; they carried about 16 individuals, and we didn’t carry as much, and they would have been in all the different categories. We wanted to support the event, and it’s a developmental competition. We used the opportunity to expose some of our boxers.”

He said, “This coming Saturday, we will be staging another U-16 Championship at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis gym, and from that, we will select the team for the Caribbean Championship.”

Meanwhile, GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “Once again, we have achieved our primary objective, which is the exposure of emerging talents to the rigours and intricacies of international competition. While our participation centred on supporting the St Lucia federation in their bid to improve the quality of the event, for us, a tournament of this nature falls into the developmental category, especially in light of the impending Caribbean Championships, which will feature most of the participants from the event.”

He further said, “We are proud of the team’s performance, as it highlights the continuous advancement and strides that the GBA is making. We will continue to invest in our talents, fighters, and officials for the foreseeable future as we aim to maintain Guyana’s upward trajectory in the discipline within the English-speaking Caribbean. Congratulations are for a successful campaign.”

Several nations participated in the OECS Championship, some of whom will compete at the impending Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Championships in Guyana.