Latest update January 19th, 2025 12:01 AM
‘GOA made ‘significant’ donation to Boxers in Cuba’ – Juman-Yassin
Virus is not yet a massive impact but will affect Boxers qualifying
According President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) K Juman-Yassin the Global Pandemic Corona Virus has not yet had a massive impact in Guyana but it will affect our efforts to qualify our Boxers for Tokyo 2020.
K. A. Juman Yassin
The Olympics are scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Tokyo, Japan, with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 22 July and IOC president Thomas Bach said at meeting on Friday that it is too early to make any decisions about the Games which is still four months to go.
“We have invested greatly in having four Boxers and two Coaches in Cuba for three months. We had brought a Cuban Coach to Guyana in 2019 and with the cancellation of the qualifying tournament in Argentina which should have been next week it will cause a setback,” said Juman-Yassin who has been at helm of GOA since 1996.
Both International Airports in Guyana have been closed for at least two weeks due to the Corona Virus (which has which infected five persons and caused one fatality) which has prevented Kevin Allicock, Denis Thomas, Desmond Amsterdam and Colin Lewis and their Cuban Coach from returning home.
“The GOA is working with Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) to assist the Boxers in Cuba and we have made a substantial donation in this regard,” informed the 73-year-old former Chief Magistrate.
Juman-Yassin, a former President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association, stated that table tennis player Chelsea Edgehill is also being disappointed as her quest to qualify has been put off.
“The AAG is, and continues to be focused and hats off to them. I will urge all those Athletes to one way or another fix a programme with their Coaches to stay fit, train and be ready for the qualifying events.We are not alone in this dilemma as other Athletes around the world are facing the same problem,” the GOA head noted.
However, with our outdoor spaces in Georgetown and around the Country we can still move on and be focused.
My message to our Athletes and Associations is to acknowledge the problem and find adequate and safe alternatives,” concluded Juman-Yassin who was the first Guyanese to be a member of the Pan American Sports Organization and Regional Vice-President of the Americas for the Commonwealth Games Federation. (Sean Devers)
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