“The team is comfortable, but wants to return home” – Lewis

Boxers in Cuba…

A group of local boxers and their coach, who are currently stuck in Cuba owing to COVID-19 travel restrictions, are said to be in good health and are doing well; but are holding on to the hope that they will have the opportunity to return home soon.
The group, which had departed Guyana on January 4, was initially supposed to spend three months in Cuba for an Olympic Qualifier preparatory training stint. Their return was scheduled for the end of March, but with Guyana having its first confirmed case of coronavirus on March 11, President of the Guyana Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, got to work in an effort to bring his boxers home, but it was a little too late, as the Guyanese authorities had made the decision to close the Eugene F. Correia and Cheddi Jagan International Airports.

With the initial period for the closure coming to an end on March 31st, there was a sliver of hope for the athletes, but the closure was then extended to May 1.
Guyana Times Sport caught up with one of the boxers, team captain Colin Lewis (attached to the Guyana Defence Force Boxing Gym), who shared a little bit about the team’s experience in the Spanish-speaking island.

Lewis said the boxers were moved to Havana, Cuba to stay at the Guyanese Consulate. And while he explained that there isn’t much for them to worry about, he disclosed that their main priority is to get home at the soonest possible time.
“The place (the home) is comfortable…but the stay is getting to us now. We need to be home, because we still have to be in two-week lock down before we go out to our family,” Lewis told this publication.
Delving deeper into their situation, Lewis shared that being in a foreign country for as long as they have is beginning to become frustrating for the group.
“We’re here uncomfortable and want to come home. We’re in a country that we don’t know their language…hoping that the airport can open on the first for us to come home,” Lewis said.
When probed about their fitness and training, the boxer went on to share that although they are doing what they can to stay fit, their training schedule has been restricted by the current situation.
“Yeah, we’re training, but not as usual as when we first came,” Lewis revealed.
The four boxers are Colin Lewis, Keevin Allicock, Desmond Amsterdam and Dennis Thomas, and their coach is Terrence Poole. They have reportedly made great strides in Cuba. Under the watchful eye of Cuban coach Francisco Roldan, the group is more than ready for the Olympic Qualifiers, which were scheduled to be held from March 26 to April 4 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Jemima Holmes)