Sambo team flies out today for Pan Am Champs

The Jamaica Sambo and Combat Sambo Federation (JSCSF) two-member team will hunt glory at the Pan American Championship to be held in Acapulco, Mexico from July 21-22.

The team of Matthew Colquhoun and Imran Hall as well as president of the JSCSF, Daniel Wilmot, are scheduled to depart the country today.

"We will compete in two categories. You have sports sambo and combat sambo. This will be our fourth time competing in the Pan American Championships and we have always returned with medals," Colquhoun told The Gleaner yesterday.

"For Imran it will be his first time at the Pan Am but I have competed three times in the Pan Am and one time in the World Championship, so its a mixed two-man team," he explained about the make-up of the team.

EXPECTING MEDALS

"It is a pretty young team but I am expecting medals in both categories at the Pan Am. We have been in preparation for about two months for this event and the team was selected early, so we had time to prepare physically and mentally and I'm pretty confident," the 24 year old also said.

With regards to funding for the tournament, he said that is being taken care of by the international body.

"The International body from Russia has funded us as they are trying to reach out to more countries," Colquhoun concluded.

Sambo is a Russian martial art that was developed by the Soviet Army in the 1920s and is now a combat sport. Sambo is a Russian acronym that translates to self defence without weapons.