GuyanaNRA 150th Anniversary Shoot… A resounding success despite lack of corporate support – Persaud

Oct 17, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...ate-support-persaud/

Franklin Wilson

Captain of the Guyana National Rifle Association (GuyanaNRA) Fullbore Team, Mahendra Persaud, which successfully defended both their Long Range, including the International Trophy and Short Range titles at the just concluded West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championships, has declared that the competitions which were run concurrently, have been a resounding success.
Commenting just after the conclusion of the Short Range Team Match on Sunday at the refurbished Timehri Rifle Ranges, Persaud, who has won the WIFBSC Individual Championship, believed that everything worked out well for what is being described as a memorable experience.
”I think it was very well held, it was a successful tournament. The ammunition issue was a bit of a bother, it wasn’t an issue to mess up the tournament, the shooters had fun, they shot well, enjoyed themselves and the country should be proud. I must also say that the rifle association did a wonderful job.”
The experienced Persaud who has once again guided Guyana to a clean sweep of all the major team titles was very high in praise for the quality of marking that was done by members of the Guyana Defence Force.
”I must pay compliments to the markers, I’ve shot most places in the world but the marking for the tournament was fantastic, really, really fantastic.
We have been repeatedly complimented by the English team which is a very particular team which has always had issues with proper marking in this part of the world. But the marking provided for the championship would have been consistently incredible.”
Persaud, however, did not hold back on the lack of sponsorship obtained by the GuyanaNRA for these championships, noting that despite the consistent top class performances of his team over the years, it is not being matched by corporate and other support.
”It’s a bit of a downer for me and the team as a whole that we are not supported like other sports; the reality is reality. They don’t perform, they don’t excel and rise to the level that we rise to, yet they are given lots of money from vey corner.
We held an international tournament here with shooters from all over the world including one of the best in the world; the execution was professional but we had to do it off of our own basically. We had to struggle, take loans to meet our budget, but we did it.”
Teams from England, Ireland, Canada, Falkland Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and Bermuda numbering close to 100 shooters, male and female spent almost two weeks here to compete in two individual championships as well as two team matches over six days of intense rivalry.
Persaud reminded that the championship can be described as a great Sports Tourism venture given eth fact that a number of the shooters brought their relatives and would have made a number of trips to historical sites including Kaieteur which would have helped to boost the economy.