BARBADIAN wrestlers had contrasting results against the region’s best combatants in the Regional Beach Wrestling Championships during the second edition of the Barbados Olympic Association’s Invitational Games Beach Festival last weekend at Pirates Cove.
The primary school division saw keen competition. Rabecca Williams, of Wrestling Pandas, was given a run for her money by Young Dragons’ Shamiyah Forde. With a single leg, Forde took down Williams to gain an early two-point lead.
Though Williams’ game plan lacked the usual Cuban-style approach, she equalised before going on to win with a one-pointer take-down during the two-minute regulation period.
In the Under-18 category, Barbados’ Jalen Stoute had a tough time facing Suriname’s Dutch-styled duo of Nawien Bepat and Stephen Brunings.
Bepat went on to win that division while teammate Brunings took silver and Stoute had to settle for bronze.
After two tough battles to eliminate his opponents, Widesh Ramcharan emerged winner of pool one in the men’s Under-80 kg category.
Ramcharan’s teammate Micha Williams became victorious in pool two but lost to him during the playoffs to become champion.
The men’s over-80 kg category, containing elite local athletes as well as those from Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Suriname, proved the toughest and most competitive of the championships.
The Trinidad and Tobago world ranking Sambo athlete, Martin Joseph, used some superb take-downs when he met up with 260-pounder Leandro Dongo of Suriname. Joseph held his own during the battle but lost to Dongo 3-2. (PR/RG)
