Team Jaguars roar to victory; WIFB Short Range C/ship to be contested today
WIFBSC WADADLI CUP
Consistent shooting by the Guyana Jaguars 4-member team saw them cantering to victory in the Wadadli Team Cup when the penultimate day of shooting was contested at the Crabbs Fullbore Range in Antigua on Friday.
After surrendering the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council (WIFBSC) Individual X-Class title to Jamaica after defending champion Lennox Braithwaite lost out as well as fellow Guyanese Mahendra Persaud; but winning the O-Class category through Sherwin Felicien, the Guyanese shooters are leaving no stones unturned when it came to taking back the Short Range championship to the South American mainland.
Friday’s Wadadli Cup saw the competing teams which numbered 11 (4-members each, shooting 2 sighting shots and 7 to count at the 300, 500 and 600 yards ranges. Guyana Jaguars which led from the first range throughout the shoot and only dropped 2 points at the first two ranges and 14 at the last, ended with a total of 402 points and 21Vs.
From left: Mahendra Persaud, Lennox Braithwaite, Dylan Fields and Ransford Goodluck
Barbados A came second with 391.20 whilst Jamaica Gold was third one point back with 390.17. The second Guyana team, Team Pirai, ended 9th.
Lennox Braithwaite led with two possibles for the Guyana Jaguars at the 300 and 500 ranges while Fullbore Captain Mahendra Persaud also shot one at 300; Vice-Captain Dylan Fields achieved his at the 500 yards.
Braithwaite only dropped 2 points for the entire three ranges while Persaud and Fields dropped 5 each and the other member of the team, Ransford Goodluck, 6 to cap a fine day at the range, exhibiting good form ahead of today’s big match.
Barbados A owe their good showing to the excellent form of the top female shot in the Caribbean, Shelly-Ann Hinds who missed possibles at both the 300 and 500 yards ranges whilst dropping just 5 points for the day. Hinds’ teammate Louis King also dropped 5 points while the only possible for them was achieved by Marlon King at 500 yards.
Other shooters returning possibles on the day were David Rickman of the Jamaica Gold at 300, dropping 3 shots for the entire day; Anderson Perry (300 yards) of Antigua Black who dropped just 2 points overall; Paul Archer (Guyanese) and Tom Maynard of Canada at 300 yards and Ryan Sampson of Guyana Pirai at 500 yards.
Commenting on the performance of Guyana Jaguar, Head Wind Coach ACP Paul Slowe stated that he was very pleased with the performances of the quartet given the challenging conditions that all the shooters had to face.
He noted that while the Jaguars only dropped 2 points each at the first two ranges they battled well to only drop 14 at the final range, the same as Barbados A, Jamaica Gold dropped one less.
Commenting on today’s 8-Member Team Match, Captain Mahendra Persaud said that barring any major challenges, Guyana should retain the Short Range Championship, symbol of supremacy in the Caribbean. Guyana are also the Long Range Champions.
Team Guyana will come from Mahendra Persaud, Lennox Braithwaite, Dylan Fields, Ransford Goodluck, Ryan Sampson, Leo Romalho, Sherwin Felicien and Peter Persaud. The shoot will be 10 rounds at each range with 2 sighters.
Persaud, Braithwaite, Goodluck and Fields are also Assistant Wind Coaches.
