Guyana rifle shooters will be banking on experience in their quest to retain the West Indies Fullbore shooting championships as two days of team competition fire off on today at the Paragon ranges in Barbados.
It has not been smooth sailing for the Guyanese riflemen who have come up against some of the top international shooters including marksmen from Great Britain, Australia, Canada and the Channel Islands but National captain Mahendra Persaud said his charges will be pulling all stops to defend the prestigious regional titles.
Guyana, the reigning short and long range title holders will square off with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Antigua/Barbuda for regional supremacy.
The regional shooters will compete in the long range match at 900 and 1000 yards today while tomorrow they will square off in the Short Range team match over 300, 500 and 600 yards.
Persaud said that Guyana will be relying heavily on experience and the final eight shooters from a list of 11 were to be named yesterday evening following the Individual competition.
The team is likely to come from Persaud (captain), Dylan Fields (vice captain), Lennox Braithwaite, Ransford Goodluck, Paul Slowe, Dane Blair, Leo Romalho and Sigmund Douglas.
Braithwaite is the 2012 regional champion, while Goodluck is the current national title holder. Romalho who returned to competition earlier this year after an absence of over 10 years has showed tremendous form on his return to the sport.
Persaud said the shooting conditions in Barbados have been tough but it was the ideal learning experience for the Guyanese shooters.
“It is the closest you can get shooting at Bisley in Great Britain as several of the world’s leading shooters are here and we can expect some exciting matches over the next few days,” he added.
Apart from the West Indies team matches, a team will be selected to represent the region in the Australia Cup match against Team Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and Channel Islands on Saturday.
