THE Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) has thrown its support behind the Guyana National Rifle Association (GuyanaNRA) as they continue to prepare for the 2018 Commonwealth Games set for the Gold Coast, Australia.President of the GOA, K.A Juman Yassin on Thursday presented a cheque worth $1.5M to the GuyanaNRA captain Mahendra Persaud at a simple ceremony held at the GOA office in High Street, Georgetown.
Yassin, in remarks, stated that the donation was made through the Commonwealth Games Federation to help the GNRA with their preparations for the Commonwealth Games next year.
“The GNRA has been doing exceedingly well and with this we hope to see them on the podium,” he said. He indicated that another donation will be made shortly.
He made special mention of Mahendra Persaud and Lennox Brathwaite for their performances over the years, adding that the executive of the GNRA has been working very hard to make the nation proud and he hopes to see the results in Australia.
Persaud expressed gratitude to the GOA and said its input will assist them with their training for the Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships which is a pre-run to the Commonwealth Games set for the said venue. He said that the assistance will help them to get acclimatised to the conditions as compared to previous championships.
Persaud noted that this will be the first time any Guyana team will be present at the championships and they hope to medal.
“Our shooters have always held their own but we have been a little off in terms of medals and hopefully with this assistance we can land a spot on the podium,” he posited.