Shooter Roger Daniel had the lone chance to win T&T's first medal of the Pan American Games, but that aim went off target when he placed 13th during the qualification round in the men's 10m air pistol event at the indoor 10-meter air pistol stadium at the Base Aerea Las Palmas in Lima, Peru on Sunday.
On the third official day of competition at the Games, the 2011 Pan Am silver medallist scored 565 after producing 94 in the first round, then followed up with 95 in the second round, then dropped in the third with 93 before closing with 94, 94 and 95 in the final three rounds too place outside of the qualifying positions. Only the top eight shooters advance to the medal round.
On Monday, Daniel returns to action and will partner with Marsha Bullen-Jones at they look to qualify for the medal round in the mixed team 10m air pistol from 10 am (T&T time)
Also aiming for the men’s trap competition will be Anthony Marajand Robert Auerbach from 11 am.
<Grant, Davidson come up short>
Rheeza Grant and Malika Davidson were a frustrating pair after losing out to El Salvador for 13th spot in the women's beach volleyball competition.
The national duo had to settle for 14th spot after being swept in straight sets, 2-0, at the Beach Volleyball Stadium in San Miguel.
Play in the first set was balanced early on with T&T staying with the El Salvadorians, 3-3, but their opponent went on a run and had seven unanswered points to hold a 10-3 lead at the break.
However, the local pair did not stay down for long and rallied back to tie the score at 20-20. The El Salvador team kept clam and worked off the two points to the dismay of Grant and Davidson and took the set, 22-20.
“It was a game that we could have done better because the team wasn’t at a higher level than us. We made a little too many errors,” said Davidson. “But in the first set, we got back on it with our complexity which is our serving which I felt that we had way more confidence in and we were playing a much better game there. The team had some good plays they caught us off guard with it at times or two.
“They had a game-plan for us and I felt for us to break their game plan, we had to change some things which we did and we caused them to make errors and forced them how we wanted them to play.”
The second set began similarly with the T&T volleyballers matching the El Salvadorians point for point with scores tied 5-5 but the El Salvador team regained their composure and added six more points compared to T&T’s one to earn an 11-6 lead befoe claiming the set, 21-14.
“They beat us on the experience that they have. We can’t discredit the team regardless of both of us being on the same level. They had a lot more game experience than us. We really really wanted that victory today to gain two wins at least from the five games we played but we tried our hardest but it just wasn’t our best today,” said Grant.
<Rugby women finish 8th>
The Nicholette Pantor-captained rugby women’s team ended in the last place in the eight-team competition which ended on Sunday.
T&T, coached by Carlton Felix, was hoping to capture its first win in their seventh playoff match but were beaten 22-0 by Mexico.
“In the Mexico game we played hard with good intensity, but unfortunately we didn't keep our composure and kept losing possession,” said Felix after the local team’s final match at the Games.
The rugby unit had earlier lost to host country Peru, 31-10, in the fifth to eighth placement playoff. Leah Kintiba scored both tries to get T&T's points.
He said, “Overall it was a great experience for the team as most of them have never played at this level before. It's an eye-opener in terms of the work we have to do to catch up with other international teams especially physically.
“All in all the experience was good and hopefully the players will remain motivated to work hard to prepare their bodies and minds right because although these teams are better than us, they're still within our reach.
<Mundo sets Canoe record>
At the Albufero Medio Mundo, Nicholas Robinson was able to achieve one of his goals at the Games in breaking the national men’s 200m kayak singles record.
Competing in Sunday's semifinals, he clocked 40.613 seconds in placing seventh and was eliminated.
However, it was an improvement from the first round when he crossed in 41.328 to place sixth in heat one.
<Alexander, Prince chase medals>
At the Miguel Grau Coliseum, a win on Monday for Michael Alexander and Aaron Prince in their respective qualifying matches will ensure two medals for T&T. What type of metal it will be, will rely on the local boxers.
Alexander will have to take out Costa Rica's Eduardo Sanchez in the men's light welterweight (64 kg) quarterfinals when the boxers meet in the seventh bout in the afternoon session which starts at 3 pm on Monday (T&T time) where Nicaraguan Lesther Espino stands in the way of Prince in the men's middleweight (75kg) quarterfinals. They will square off in the fifth fight in the Monday evening session at 8.30 pm.
Also competing on Monday is T&T’s Megan Lawrence versus Gloria Mosquera (Colombia) in the women's 67kg Taekwondo (kyorugi) at 12.15 pm
In badminton, Nikiesha Blake in the women's singles round of 64.
