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By Neto Baptiste
A number of the country’s top boxers and officials were forced to pay their own airfares, accommodation and meals as they travelled to neighbouring St Lucia to represent Antigua and Barbuda in the OCES Boxing Championships slated for July 31 to August 4.
This is according to owner and coach of the Uprising Boxing Gym, Anthony Severin, who said two of the boxers were also sponsored by the St Lucia Boxing Association after the Antigua and Barbuda contingent were turned down for funding by both the Ministry of Sport and the National Olympic Committee.
“We would really like to take more but we don’t have the finance. We always go and compete at those events and fall short because of a lack of boxers – but we would like win all of our fights – but because we don’t have the number we wouldn’t win the tournament. So for this tournament we said we would try to go with at least 12 boxers and we would have put that forward to the Ministry of Sport, the NOC to let them know this is what we want to take. They took a good while and after, they came back and said there is no funding so they can’t help us,” he said.
A total of five boxers, all from the Uprising Boxing Gym, the country’s only active gym, will represent the twin-island state at this year’s event. The team includes veteran heavyweight contender, Yakita Aska and rising light heavyweight boxer, Zalaan Jan.
Severin said all of the boxers have been in constant preparation for the tournament and are expected to give a good account of themselves.
“We don’t stop training because we always want to be prepared and so whenever the opportunity comes we’re ready. My programme I do at Uprising Boxing Gym is ongoing daily so we only take a break when it is a national holiday or something like that but after one event, we go right back to training so it’s an ongoing thing,” he said.
One member of the ministry’s ADARP programme, said the body is designed to assist associations and not clubs, pointing out that the boxing team derives from a club.
Full Squad: Zalaan Jan (Light heavyweight 80kg), Leon Laudat (Youth Light welterweight 63.5Kg), Osahar Browne (Junior super heavyweight 92+kg), Jeremiah Toussaint (Elite lightweight 57-60kg), Yakita Aska (Heavyweight 92+kg).
The team will be coach by Anthony Severin who will be assisted by former boxer, Stanford Ross.
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