A confident Guyana rifle shooting team departs Guyana today assured of retaining the West Indies full-bore team championships when the regional event is staged from Tuesday in Antigua/Barbuda.
Team captain Mahendra Persaud expressed confidence ahead of the team’s departure as the local shooters set their sight on winning the regional short range team match for a fifth successive time.
The Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) Friday announced a 12-man team that includes three foreign-based shooters for the regional tournament which will be staged for the first time in Antigua.
The foreign-based shooters are Sigmund Douglas and John Fraser of the United States of America (USA) and Paul Archer who is based in Canada.
Douglas and Fraser are regular shooters at this level of competition while Archer, a former national captain, returned to competition for Guyana last year in Barbados after a long lay off from regional shooting.
Former national champion Lennox Braithwaite who has excelled following his return to the sport recently has earned a recall.
Persaud, the current national champion, will once again lead the team with his deputy being Dylan Fields.
The team will depend heavily on the inform Ransford Goodluck who is the regional individual top sharpshooter.
Veteran rifleman Richard Fields, Dane Blair, , Ryan Sampson, Lt. Col. Terry Stuart and Peter Persaud.
Stuart and Persaud will compete in the Junior Division of the individual competition.
Former assistant commissioner of Police and vice president of the GNRA Paul Slowe will serve as Manager/Coach.
Persaud that the association was able to raise the required funding needed to make the trip possible.
He said all the shooters are in top form and the team will be going all out to retain the regional title.
The Guyana team will be looking to maintain their five-year unbeaten run at the regional event against fierce competition from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Bermuda and the host nation.
Four members of the Guyana are familiar with the new ranges in Antigua following their participation in a Goodwill series there last year.
Tomorrow is set aside for team practice sessions while the individual competition will fire off on Tuesday.
The team match will take place on Friday.
The shooters will compete only at 300, 500 and 600 yards since Antigua has no long ranges to accommodate shooting at 900 and 1000 yards.
