Revenge match
TTO SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT boxer Nigel Paul will be looking to exact vengeance on the man who ensured his early exit from the 2019 edition when Team TTO’s 2023 Pan American Team TTO's 2023 Pan American Games campaign gets under way today at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico en Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile. Boxing boxer Nigel Paul is looking to exact vengeance on the man who ensured his early exit from the 2019 edition when Team TTO’s 2023 edition of the competition gets underway. Paul's performance could indicate how close the national outfit can approach their Lima 2019 returns, and he is hoping to make a winning start and set the tone for the rest of the TTO boxing squad. The opening ceremony of the multi-event sporting competition is set to kickstarts today, with baseball and boxing being kicked off before the Pan Am programme begins. TTO swimmers Nikoli Blackman, Zarek Wilson, Cherelle Thomspon, and Karen O'Mara Singh will also feature in the PanAm programme, with Blackman and Wilson competing again Monday.
Опубликовано : 2 года назад от в Sports World
TTO SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT boxer Nigel Paul will be looking to exact vengeance on the man who ensured his early exit from the 2019 edition when Team TTO’s 2023 Pan American Games campaign gets under way today at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico en Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile.
With TTO hard-pressed to match last cycle’s medal haul due to the unavailability of several of their star athletes for varying reasons, Paul’s performance could indicate how close the national outfit can approach their Lima 2019 returns (11 medals--1 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze).
While the grand opening ceremony —scheduled for tomorrow— officially kickstarts the two-week multi-event sporting competition, two disciplines actually started prior to that opening show; baseball and boxing.
The baseball competition pitched off yesterday, but the boxing programme — with Olympic qualification spots at stake — punches off today. And for Paul, it will be a matter of attempting to overcome a familiar foe. “I am up against Colombia tomorrow (today). This is not the first time I have faced him. I know him very well, he knows me very well. So it is going to be an interesting match. I am hoping to go out there tomorrow and get the first win for Trinidad and Tobago and get the ball rolling for the team. Had a good session (Tuesday) and (yesterday) as well. I believe I am ready to go out there and perform,” said Paul
Four years ago in Lima, Peru, Colombian Cristian Salcedo outboxed Paul to win a unanimous 5-0 decision in their quarter-final bout after both fighters received byes.
Today, the pair square off in the preliminary round of 16 in the men’s 92kg+ super heavyweight category and head coach Reynold Cox said the fight is crucial where Paris 2024 Olympics are concerned. “This is a make-or-break moment with two Olympic spots up for grabs. Facing tournament favourites in the early stages is going to be very difficult,” Cox assessed. “We have been working hard so everyone is confident. I think he (Nigel) is ready to lead the team and give a good performance. There are no surprises. We are ready for the Games.”
Paul will hope to make a winning start and set the tone for the rest of the TTO boxing squad including TTO’s first female boxer to see action, Eyed Angel George in her women’s 75kg round of 16 battle against Panama’s Atheyna Bylon.
On Saturday, in the men’s 51kg preliminaries, TTO’s Al Jaleel Jokhu opposes Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez on Saturday.
And on Sunday, the final two TTO pugilists will jump into the ring; Aaron Prince squares off against Canada’s Junior Peka in their round of 16 Men’s 71kg contest, while Tianna Guy is set to trade blows with Colombia’s Angie Valdes in their women’s 60 kg fight.
TTO’s swimmers also get going early in the Pan Am programme, with Nikoli Blackman (men’s 200m freestyle) and Zarek Wilson (men’s 100m butterfly) entered to make a splash Sunday at the Centro Aquatico.
Three-time Trinbago 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games champion Blackman and Wilson compete again Monday, this time in the men’s 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke, respectively, before the TTO swimming contingent completes their participation next Tuesday with World Juniors 50m freestyle champion Blackman in the men’s 50m freestyle and the lone female representative Cherelle Thomspon, in the same event for women.
At the Estadio Español, basketball 3x3 also tips off Saturday with TTO facing the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in their group.
Coach Christopher Jackson was pleased to get some practice today on the synthetic rubber surface that they will compete on Saturday but that is absent back home. “It was definitely good for the guys to get a feel for that surface, get accustomed to the bounce ahead of the competition. We will have another session tomorrow (today) and then our last one on Friday.
Also launching their Pan Am campaign at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico will be the TTO badminton team on Saturday. TTO’s Karen Singh will want to display her power to the judges in the women’s 49kb weightlifting competition Saturday at the Gimnasio Chimkowe.
On Monday, Jameel Ali and Annalise Newman-Achee will demonstrate their acrobatic ability in the men’s and women’s overall competition, respectively, in artistic gymnastics.
TTO cyclists headed by World silver medallist Nicholas Paul pedal off in the men’s team sprint from Tuesday at the Velódromo with action in the men’s team sprint.
Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s hockey teams flick off next Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped. Rheann Chung competes in the round of 32 women’s singles in table tennis on October 30.
At the Laguna Grande San Pedro de la Paz, Nicholas Robinson will paddle into action on November 2 in the men’s K1 1000m while Chris Richards Jr also tees off in the men’s individual competition that day at the Prince of Wales Country Club.