Karate KO

Jamaica's wild card entry in karate at the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Barranquilla, Colombia, took yet another wild turn late yesterday evening with a late notice of withdrawal served on Sheckema Cunningham and her coach, Jason McKay, by the World Karate Federation.

"She has been hit hard," McKay told The Gleaner yesterday. "It's a bitter pill. She got news that she would not be allowed to compete as the wild card that was given to Jamaica had been withdrawn.

"This information was not sent to the organising committee of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) or organisers of the CAC Games by the World Karate Federation (WKF)," he explained.

McKay said further investigations revealed that the wild card was conditional and had in fact been withdrawn by the WKF from July 10. However, when JOA officials attended the final meeting on July 15, her name was still on the list.

Cunningham, Jamaica's most decorated female fighter, was rushed into a month's training for the CAC Games after it was discovered that the wild card spot was for a female, following the preparation of Kenneth Edwards, who had even travelled to Curacao for a pre-Games tournament.

Seido Karate's Seishaihan Tony Robinson, president of the recently formed Jamaica Karate Federation, who strongly believed Cunningham could have possibly medalled, starting a journey to represent Jamaica at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where karate will debut, was left in shock.

"I am upset, really disappointed. I feel this for her. She trained so hard, day and night. It was a short time for her to prepare herself. To reach this stage, it's so upsetting for her and martial arts. We were looking for good things from her," he said.

"Emotionally, it's a big let-down for all of us. Remember, she bypassed the US Open to work on this. She was the US Open defending champion and bypassed it. Now, she can't compete at all," Robinson lamented, adding he was unsure whether all hopes of Olympic qualification were dashed.

"I really don't know. I will learn more from the officials when they come back," he said.

Meanwhile, up to press time, McKay said Jamaica's management was still protesting the decision on grounds that the error had nothing to do with the JOA or Cunningham's management.

"That's the latest," he said.