Guyana-born Canadian judoka Darren Elcock, who is desirous of representing Guyana at the 2020 Olympics said he is encountering difficulties with the Guyana Judo Association (GJA) as he makes his transition back to the local arena.
Elcock, who migrated to Canada at the age of seven, recently returned after a slew of exceptional performances overseas. However, the fighter is claiming that the local body, after seemingly showing interest in having him on board, is suddenly ‘dragging their feet’ with regard to his transfer from the Canadian Judo Association (CJA).
Guyana-born Canadian International judoka Darren Elcock (in white) performs a hip toss on an opponent
During Tuesday’s press conference held at the Oasis Café, Elcock claimed upon his arrival, he was given the “cold shoulder” by the GJA President Raul Archer and another executive who he said made numerous excuses regarding his transition after painting a picture that things were in place to facilitate him being a part of the team.
He added that the process is very simple, as the GJA will need to send a letter of confirmation to CJA regarding the willingness of Elcock to compete for Guyana after some 15 years overseas.
A former Karateka of the YMCA Dojo, he has numerous accolades under his belt including a gold medal in the team championships in the Alberta Winter Games in 2010; a gold medal in March 2011 at the Edmonton international championships and in 2012 he travelled to Portugal to participate in the Junior World Cup tournament.
With Mixed Martial arts, karate, Shotokan among other self-defence techniques ruling supreme compared to the Judo community, Elcock said he was further baffled as to why a fighter of his international credentials was seemingly overlooked in a fraternity which is in need of a huge boost. Despite his obstacles, Elcock said he was still upbeat about playing a huge role in judo locally. The Judoka noted that regardless of the situation he is still hopeful of fulfilling his desired role and is confident about representing his birth country at the Olympics one day.
(Clifton Ross)
