TT takes sambo double silver in Northern Ireland

MARTIN Joseph and Keron Bourne both earned silver medals at the 2018 International Sambo Federation (FIAS) President’s Cup, which took place in Northern Ireland, on Saturday.

It was described as a success by president of the TT Sambo Federation Jason Fraser, who made the journey with the two-man team.

Seventy-two athletes and ten countries challenged the President’s Cup: TT, Canada, England, France, Ghana, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia and the US.

Joseph defeated France’s Malek Aouat in one minutes, 15 seconds into the match to earn a place in the final.

There, he went up against Michael Tchamou of Cameroon, where he lost on points to earn silver.

Fraser praised Joseph for “a great performance”, especially after he lost 35lbs in six weeks and arrived in Northern Ireland with 15lbs still to lose, which he did.

Meanwhile, Bourne, the defending champion, got a bye into the final of his weight division where he went up against Russia’s Alexander Dontsov.

Dontsov won on points as Bourne suffered an injury two minutes, 54 seconds into the match.

Fraser expressed gratitude to the Russian organisers, who took care of tickets, hotel accommodation, food and transport in Northern Ireland for the duration of the event.

He also credited the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs for their support of the national sambo team, and to the national fire service for releasing Joseph, a firefighter, on special leave.

Next on the agenda for the TT sambo team is the World Championships in Romania which takes place next month.

According to Fraser, the TT Sambo Federation has expressed interest in hosting the event in TT in the future.