The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Five more Bahamians made their exit on day two of the World Junior Judo Championships yesterday in the Crown Ballroom at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.

But D'Arcy Rahming Jr, one of the local coaches, said there's still a glimmer of hope for the other half of the Bahamian team that will be in action today as the five-day event, hosted by the Bahamas Judo Federation, swings into high gear.

"We still have seven more athletes. We are going through a half of our team," he said. "We're going towards the heavier weights where we have our better guys, so we're hopefully in the crew tomorrow.

"We didn't have any competitors who made it to the finals block yet, but it was a good showing from Team Bahamas. Everybody is playing the game. No one is getting wiped out."

• Here's a synopsis of what transpired yesterday:

Men's 66 kg

• Davante Sweeting pinned in last 30 seconds

After receiving a penalty, Sweeting came close to at least surviving the four minutes of his 66kg match against Vargas Cristin from Colombia in pool A. But Sweeting got pinned 3:34 into the match.

• Desmond Bootle thrown

In pool D in the same weight class, Bootle got stopped 1:30 into the match when he got thrown by Andres Pariche of Venezuela.

• Andrew Munnings grappled

Competing in pool A, Munnings got a penalty and he was thrown at 1:27 in his match against Victor Sterpu from Moldova. "My opponent was good, but I felt I could have taken the match," said Munnings, "I felt confident in the match, but I made a few mistakes that I will work on in practice."

Munnings, a 20-year-old student also at UB, said his strength definitely will have to improve and he have to perfect his strategy and gripping. But he said he will cherish the opportunity to demonstrate to the Bahamian public how they can compete at the global level.

• Dre Hall costly mistake

Hall, competing in pool C against Ayton Siquir from Mozambique, got a point and a penalty before he eventually suffered a lost at the 2:15 mark. Siquir threw him for an ippon to claim the victory.

"I know I could have done much better. At the beginning of the match, I was winning, but I made a mistake and put my hand over his back and my opponent was able to get the throw," Hall reflected.

"The game plan was going great, but I made that one simple mistake and it cost me. But champions lose and they come back, so I know what I have to work on now to perform better at future world tournaments. I can promise you, you will see a big improvement in my game."

Hall, an 18-year-old student at the University of the Bahamas, said he was just thrilled to perform in front of the Bahamian crowd, especially with his mother, Nikai Bain, watching.

Women's 57 kg

• Mya Beneby out strengthened

Beneby, the lone female in action, suffered a quick decision 37 seconds into match against Sarah Leonie Cysique from France.

"Personally, I'm not satisfied with what I did. I expected to do a lot better," said Beneby, a bronze medalist at the Commonwealth Games. "I did as best as I could at that time.

"But when I walked into the match, I bowed and my opponent was really strong. I underestimated her strength. So when she gripped me, it was really hard to move. I tried my best to move, but I guess my best wasn't good enough."

Beneby, a 16-year-old 11th grader at Bahamas Academy, said despite the loss, it was a good experience and she was happy with the support received from the Bahamian people.

"I was much more comfortable fighting at home instead of traveling. It was good overall," she stated. "But the competition was tough. I just have to go back and train a little harder."

Benson Beneby Jr said he was thrilled to watch the Bahamians in action, especially his daughter Mya.

"I thought the match went well. For the competition she had, I though she did a good job," he stated. "This girl was 20 and my daughter is 16, but she held her own against somebody who has much more experience than she has and I think she's going to do well moving forward."

Beneby Jr said it was good for the event to be held here because it gives the local judokas the exposure that they would not normally receive here at home as the other sports in the country.

Another parent, Timothy Munnings was pleased with what he saw.

"I'm very proud of my son's efforts," he stressed. "He's been training really hard. In fact, the whole team has been through a vigorous training on the beach and in the gym. They have been doing a lot of stuff that you expect a team to be doing for a World Championships such as this.

"I'm very proud of him. Unfortunately, he made a slight mistake. These guys are strong and he got rolled over. He felt very confident that he could have won, but at this level, even in track and field, you could lose by a split second. He lost by a mistake. I'm very proud of him."

As the Director of Sports at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Munnings said this was just another indication that the Bahamas is indeed a Sports Tourism destination and have the capacity to hold any major international event.

But federation president D'Arcy Rahming Sr said hosting the event didn't come without his pain.

"It's fantastic. It's everything that we have imagined, the people have been wonderful, the visitors as well as us, who are hosting this event," he said. "A lot of people have put in some long hours and it's like a dream come through."

The good thing, according to Rahming Sr, is that the Bahamas is hosting people from so far around the world and this can be considered the launch of judo in the country, although it comes with a price tag of about 1/2 million dollars by the time it's over and done with on Sunday.

"We were so blessed to host the IAAF World Relays. This is on the magnitude of that, so I feel pretty good about that," he proclaimed. "I hope to do a yearly event like this because this sport model is something that we can continue to develop."

With three days remaining, Rahming Sr is encouraging the Bahamian public to come out and view some top notch competition that many will probably not have the ability to pay for if it was held overseas.

The event was officially opened by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle.