Cox advances to quarterfinals at Pan Am Games

By Rawle Toney

The highlight of Barbados’ opening day at the 19th Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, was Boxer Charles Cox’s advancement to the quarterfinals in the Men’s 80kg category.

Cox secured a third-round stoppage victory against Puerto Rico’s Omar Brito in their round-of-16 bout, bringing him one step closer to a medal at the games.

As the Pan Am Games also serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Cox now needs two more wins to book his ticket to France.

He exhibited a dominant performance throughout the contest, winning the first two rounds on four of the five judge’s scorecards, except for Germany’s Holger Kussmaul.

Cox intensified his efforts in the third round, relentlessly attacking his Puerto Rican counterpart, which led to the Italian referee Paola Farloni stopping the fight at two minutes and 20 seconds, declaring Cox the winner.

The only Barbadian pugilist to have medalled at the Pan Am Games is heavyweight Anderson Emmanuel, who clinched bronze in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Unfortunately, it was not a bright day for Barbados’ Jabali Breedy, who lost on points (5-0) in his 51kg bout against Venezuela’s Jose Gonsalves.

In the women’s 75kg category, the island’s other boxer at the Pan Am Games, Kimberly Gittens, is scheduled to step into the ring on Monday.

In the realm of Badminton, Kennie King, the lone athlete representing Barbados in the discipline, had his hopes of progressing from the Men’s round-of-32 singles dashed by Cuba’s Carlos Herrera, who defeated him with scores of 21-16, 21-15.

The shooters from Barbados, Michelle Elliot, Michael Maskell, and Dave Seal, faced a challenging day in Santiago.

Elliot participated in the women’s Skeet Shooting event and concluded day one in 10th place with a score of 62.

In the men’s Skeete Shooting division, Maskell currently holds the fourth position with a score of 72. Seal competed in the Men’s rapid-fire pistol event and scored 260, placing him in 20th position.

Thirty Barbadian athletes will be among more than 6,000 athletes from across the Americas participating in 38 sports, with the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris at stake.

Team Barbados will compete in 20 disciplines – aquatics, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, e-football, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, rowing, sailing, shooting, squash, surfing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.