Guyanese boxers reportedly given permission to return home

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) on Monday was informed that the four boxers stranded in Cuba have been given approval to return to Guyana.
This information was given during an informal discussion with the Director of Sport (DoS), Christopher Jones.

However, to date, the GBA has received no official correspondence from the National COVID-19 Task Force, which was written to over two weeks ago by Association President Steve Ninvalle.

Nevertheless, the Association has commenced efforts to bring home the mentally-drained

athletes.
According to a release from the GBA, all angles are being explored and no stone will be left unturned in what must now be viewed as a national effort, as their trip to Cuba was with intention of representing Guyana at the America’s Boxing Confederation Olympic Qualifier.
The GBA has now written to the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and the National Sports Commission (NSC), the two entities that assisted in getting the boxers to Cuba initially, to render assistance in returning the four boxers to Guyana.
These two organisations joined forces in order to send the team to Cuba back in January and it is hoped that this collaboration would create a way for their return. So far, Light welterweight Colin Lewis, light heavyweight Dennis Thomas, middleweight Desmond Amsterdam and bantamweight Keevin Allicock have been stranded in Cuba for 68 days, not inclusive of their initial training period.
Three of the four are the breadwinners of their households in Guyana, so their unintentional and extended absence has had a negative economic impact on their respective families. As such, the GBA stated that it would remain committed to bringing home the quartet at the earliest possible time.
The quad of boxers had initially travelled to Cuba in January with the objective to train in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers which were supposed to be hosted in Argentina in March. However, with the spread of the novel coronavirus, the event was cancelled and before the boxers could return home, Guyana’s ports were closed.