Latest update November 23rd, 2024 1:00 AM
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Spotlight on Khan as GABF gets Sports Hall approval
– National practice sessions to officially begin
By Edison Jefford
After being locked out of the Cliff Anderson Sport Hall (CASH) last year during their scheduled
Bashur Khan
practice sessions, Guyana’s national basketball teams were granted access to the indoor facility to prepare for the Caribbean Championships in June.
“We have approval for (the) use of the Sports Hall for National Basketball Training Sessions at CASH,” GABF President, Nigel Hinds, confirmed in an email last weekend.
The federation had encountered challenges gaining access to the venue for such sessions in the past to the extent that Administrative Secretary attached to the National Sports Commission (NSC), Gervy Harry, had defended Bashur Khan publicly when the latter turned off the lights while the female national team was practicing two weeks ago.
Khan is the Manager of the Sports Hall and has had many run-ins with the GABF, primarily over use of the venue for national purposes. Notwithstanding, individuals from the bourgeois societies are allowed novelty basketball time at the facility.
“We were embarrassed, insulted and more so Khan was disrespectful to all (and) sundry… We have four hours to train both male and female (teams) and if the males are not utilising theirs, we took the opportunity to utilise the extra time wisely,” Julian Haynes, who is currently in charge of the female team, told Kaieteur Sport in a letter.
Haynes was directly addressing the issue of turning off the lights on the female national team. He said that
Neil Kumar
the directive of Director of Sport, Neil Kumar and Harry is different to the one executed by Khan, suggesting Khan is autonomous in his management of the facility.
“With due respect to Kumar, Harry and Khan, I would like to suggest that there is discrepancy in regards to information of date and timing (allotted) at CASH; we are seeing that Kumar/Harry understanding is this (different) and Khan understanding is totally different, thus we are having conflict,” Haynes indicated.
The question is why only the discipline of Basketball has a problem with the CASH. That edifice was built as a multi – purpose facility with preference given to Basketball,” Haynes continued, as he concluded that had the administration built other indoor sport venues, the problem would have been easily resolved.
However, the GABF and NSC were able to work out a schedule of time and date that will see the national teams gaining unprecedented access to the Sports Hall. The federation informed that it is in possession of preliminary training squads for both national teams, with the first session set for yesterday.
The women’s team is to officially depart for Tortola, British Virgin Island on June 6 and return on June 13 while the men depart on June 13 and return on June 22. Guyana’s men placed fifth at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships last year while Guyana’s Ginelle Ifill earned a full basketball scholarship to College in the US as part of the women’s team.
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