“Because of Excel, Ken Harvey and other boxers will excel.” Those were the words of Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) President Steve Ninvalle during a simple presentation ceremony on Wednesday that saw teenaged pugilist Ken Harvey being rewarded by Excel Guyana.
Harvey returned home with a bronze medal from the South American Youth Games, competing in the 60kg category.
Harvey pulled off a win in the quarter-final against Paraguay’s Edgar Miranda but was unable to move on to the gold-medal fight after a narrow 3–2 loss on points to Brazil’s Maicon Dos Santos in the semis.
Nonetheless, Excel Guyana has rewarded Harvey for his efforts, with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kris Sammy expressing pride in his achievement.
“We’re very proud to recognise our esteemed boxer here for his good performance in the recent games and accomplishing the bronze medal, deservedly,” Sammy expressed.
The Excel Guyana CEO continued, “To achieve this level of boxing talent and bring home a medal is obviously very good for Guyanese and our Government, which has been really contributing to this sport and a number of other sports here in Guyana. We’d like to congratulate him.”
On the receiving end was a very grateful Ken Harvey.
Ken Harvey shared, “For my first youth games, I gained a lot of experience; I need to train harder. I just want to thank the President of the Boxing Association and the Guyana Olympic Association.”
“It feels good; although I brought back a bronze medal, it feels good to be awarded,” the pugilist added.
Meanwhile, GBA President Steve Ninvalle hailed the 18-year-old pugilist’s performance whilst highlighting the importance of Excel Guyana’s role.
Ninvalle told the small gathering, “We’re very happy with what Ken has done because of the fact that boxing in South America is an extremely tough sport. The calibre of fighters that come from South America, you will not find in Europe; it’s a different sort of boxing. So, we’re very proud of him; of course, in the semi-final fight, we thought that he would’ve won; he did enough to win that fight. But it tells us that he is just up there with the best in South America and possibly the best in the world.”
“The GBA would’ve bent backwards to make sure these guys had the sort of encampment that we would’ve wanted for them to participate at that level.”
“I would want to say to Excel and all others who would’ve supported Ken Harvey, heartfelt thank you. You see, the association cannot do it alone, so we need this sort of corporate push and sponsorship. It’s about making sure that he understands that with hard work, there are rewards,” the GBA boss went on to underscore.
Harvey was amongst seven medallists for Guyana at the South American Youth Games and the only athlete to win a medal outside of the track and field arena.
Discover more from Guyana Times
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
