By Emmerson Campbell
The three-man boxing team of Imran ‘Magic’ Khan, Stefan Gouveia and Bert Braithwaite which failed in their respective bids to clinch Olympic berths at the recently-concluded Olympic box off in Rio de Janiero, Brazil returned to Guyana yesterday.
During a media briefing yesterday at the office of President of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA), Steve Ninvalle at the Ministry of Sport, coach/manager of the team Terrence Poole and Ninvalle gave brief remarks on the performance of the boxers.
Ninvalle also intimated that GABA’s executives will try to put every system in place to dissuade the talented amateur pugilists from turning professionals.
The GABA president also stated that there is still a slim possibility that one of the three pugilists can still make it to London by way of a wild card.
He noted that in the event of a wild card being awarded for the discipline, a selection committee would meet and discuss the best option for the Games.
And both Poole and Ninvalle intimated that Gouveia (lightweight) who had booked a place in the quarterfinals by defeating Teofilo Jeronimo of Honduras 16-seven would have clinched an Olympic berth by defeating Eduar Marriaga but the Colombian was too much for the local pugilist.
Gouveia lost to Marriaga 25-nine.
Gouveia’s defeat came on the heels of losses by the other two boxers, Khan (bantamweight) and Braithwaite (junior welterweight). The joint Junior Sportsman-of-the-Year and Bolivarian Alternative Games (ALBA) bronze medalist Khan was overwhelmed by Argentina’s South American Games silver medalist Alberto Melian in his first bout, while Braithwaite lost by referee stops contest (RSC) in round two of his bout with St Lucian Marcellin Lyndel.
Khan, 19, was diagnosed with a virus before his fight which caused him to seek medical attention.
When asked what if Khan was 100% fit, Ninvalle stated that Khan is one of the Caribbean’s best amateur boxers and there is no doubt in his mind, that Khan would have been an Olympian.
GABA’s president also said that all is not lost as Khan, Gouveia and flyweight Richard Williamson who was unable to compete at the box off because of financial constraints are still young and there is a possibility that they can still represent Guyana at the 2016 Olympics in neighbouring Brazil.
Poole and Ninvalle also mentioned that the association will now focus their immediate attention on the GABA/Gatorade under-16 competitions which will box off later this month, August and December.
The GABA president thanked Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, president of the Guyana Olympic Association K Juman Yassin, Digicel, Cummings Electrical and others for their support of the boxers before and during their stay in Brazil.
The boxing competition which was organized by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) was held from May 4 to 13.
It was the last opportunity for boxers in this region (the Americas) to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The event took place at the ‘Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where ten weight categories offered a total of 38 quota places for the Olympic Games.
Guyana has not been represented in boxing at the Olympic Games since in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in 1996.
