Bourne, Joseph finish seventh at Sambo Champs

The Trinidad and Tobago sambo team of Keron Bourne and Martin Joseph both competed at a high level during the Sambo World Championships in Sochi, Russia, recently.

After Bourne got a bye in the first round, he came up against Francisco Guzman of Dominican Republic in a 62-kilogramme contest and won the fight convincingly, by a 14-2 margin. Bourne then moved on to fight Ernest Hayrapetyan of Armenia and won the contest 8-0, before losing 6-5 to a Turkmenistan fighter in the semi-final stage. Bourne did a good job by placing seventh in the world, overall, in the 62kg competition.

Martin “The Fighting Fireman” Joseph had to lose 25 pounds in one week in order to make the grade, in the 90kg category. Upon his arrival in Russia, Joseph still had 13 pounds to lose and it was difficult for him to adjust to the conditions and get the proper diet as he requires meals, without salt, but which includes mainly proteins.

Despite all the challenges that Martin experienced he made it to the bronze medal fight through the repechage, but lost on points. Martin also finished seventh overall in his category.

The Trinidad and Tobago Sambo and Combat Federation thanked the International Sambo Federation and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, including the Minister Darryl Smith, for their support, along with the USA sambo team for their assistance during the championship.

Team manager Jason Fraser was also proud of the TT team.