South American Women’s and Men’s Classic Powerlifting Championships: Guyana opens its medal quest today in Argentina

Having marked her international debut in these championships last year in Peru, where she had set the tone for what had been a very successful sojourn for Guyana, Sarah Sanmoogan would again be setting the stage for what is expected to be another successful campaign for Guyana when the South American Women’s and Men’s Classic Powerlifting Championships enter their second day today in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPLF) has sent three athletes to represent Guyana this year: Sarah Sanmoogan, Kheon Evans, and the indefatigable Naranjan Singh, who would be celebrating his 80th birthday next month.
Sanmoogan, who had snatched four gold medals and one silver in these championships in Peru, would be going all out to better last year’s performance, and the only athlete standing in her way is Antonia Madrid of Chile, who is rated as the number one athlete in the Juniors 69kg category. Other competitors in this category are Sophia Cabrera of Peru, Luana Delgado of Uruguay, and the host nation’s Kira Yashnyk.

Coach of the Guyana team is Kerma Singh, who a few days ago completed the IPF Basic Training Education Course, and is again confident that his charges would do well for themselves and the nation.
“I do not doubt that our athletes will keep the Golden Arrowhead flying high. We had a bigger team in Peru last year, and they represented (Guyana) well by capturing 14 gold medals, two silver, and five bronze overall. That was indeed an inspiring performance, and I can assure you that this year will be no different in terms of our success,” Coach Singh has said.
The other two lifters, Kheon Evans and Naranjan Singh, would be taking the platform on Saturday. Both are competing in the 83kg class, Evans in the Open and Naranjan in the Masters 4.
Evans would have to pull out all the stops in his category, as he would be taking on lifters from Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia. The competition would be tough, but Evans has said he is up to the task and is prepared for the battle.
Naranjan Singh is the lone competitor in his weight category, but he has promised that that notwithstanding, he would be putting on a classy performance.
Having expressed gratitude to the GAPLF for again ensuring that Guyana is represented at these championships, he has promised that, once he has life and good health, he would continue to represent the Golden Arrowhead with pride.
GAPLF President Franklin Wilson, who is also in Argentina and would be attending the South American Federation Congress this evening, has met with the athletes and Coach yesterday, and has congratulated them for again making the sacrifice to represent Guyana. He has also expressed his expectation that these athletes would again deliver solid performances.
Wilson is expressing his gratitude to the Hon. Charles S. Ramson Jr, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport; Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle; and President of the Guyana Olympic Association, Godfrey Munroe, for their continued commitment towards the further advancement of powerlifting.