Stranded boxers return from Cuba
At long last. The four boxers who were stranded in Cuba for the past 126 days are finally back on Guyana’s soil.
The quartet of Keevin Allicock, Colin Lewis, Desmond Amsterdam and Dennis Thomas were among the planeload of Guyanese who touched down on a repatriation flight last night at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri.
A collective breath of relief was exhaled as the four home sick sports ambassadors exited the departure doors into the comforting arms of their emotional loved ones and President of the Guyana Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle.
Via a voice note from CJIA, Ninvalle told this newspaper that the association is “Extremely happy that they are finally back home.” He pointed out that “It has been a very long and frustrating haul for all involved.”
Ninvalle added “I just hope something like this never happens again and following the seven-day home quarantine, there will be psychological evaluations.”
The GBA head then disclosed that he had received “tremendous support from the government in particular Ambassador Ivan Evelyn from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones and President and the Executive of Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) as it relates to this episode.”
He further revealed that “It is good to note that all hands were onboard with regards to getting them back on home soil. We would like to extend gratitude to all who were involved in bringing these guys home.”
Speaking on behalf of the team, the thankful Captain, Colin Lewis noted: “What we went through was the biggest test of our lives, but it just feels so good to be back home and to see our friends and family. We are just thankful to be home.”
The four pugilists, departed on January 4 for a three-month training stint ahead of the Olympic Qualifiers which was scheduled to be held four months ago.
The quartet was scheduled to return home on March 19 before traveling to Argentina for the March 26-April 3 Olympic Qualifiers which had to be shelved.
Those scheduled plans were all thwarted following the COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed in excess of 600,000 lives worldwide including 19 Guyanese to date. (Emmerson Campbell)