South American Youth Games: Guyana’s Harvey guarantees medal as archers advance

Guyana’s Ken Harvey has secured the nation’s first medal of the South American Youth Games in Panama, storming into the boxing semi-finals with a dominant performance.

Competing in the 60kg division, Harvey dismantled Paraguay’s Edgar Miranda in their quarterfinal bout.

The Guyanese pugilist showed immense poise, using his reach to control the opening round before forcing a standing eight-count with a thunderous body shot.

The destruction was completed in the second round when the referee was forced to stop the contest at the 2:32 mark, awarding Harvey a victory by TKO (RSC).

The win guarantees Harvey at least a bronze medal, who is now set to face Brazil’s Maicon Dos Santos in a highly anticipated semifinal clash today, Friday, April 17, at 18:15h, with a spot in the gold medal final on the line.

On the archery range, Brandon Cummings and Ravish Persaud endured a gruelling qualification day at the Estadio de Tiro con Arco. Under intense, sweltering conditions, the duo demonstrated remarkable mental fortitude to navigate the ranking rounds.

Both athletes have successfully advanced to the elimination rounds scheduled for Friday morning:

• Ravish Singh will compete in the Compound category, where he is slated to face a formidable opponent from Colombia.
• Brandon Cummings will contest the Recurve category, taking on a challenger from Paraguay.

Coach Ryan McKinnon noted that despite the atmospheric challenges, the archers remain focused on sharpening their technical execution for the knockout stages.

The Junior Table Tennis Team experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in the Mixed Team event, falling just short in a 3-2 loss to Bolivia.

Malachi Moore provided a spectacular start for the Golden Arrowhead, staging a spirited comeback against Sergio Ressini. After trailing 2-0, Moore battled back to win 3-2 with a marathon final set (16-18, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 14-12).

Following a loss by Kayden Meusa to Alan Duran, Guyana regained the lead when Moore and Jazmine Billingy teamed up in the mixed doubles to defeat the Bolivian pair 3-1.

The tie reached a fever pitch in the fourth match.

Billingy came agonisingly close to clinching the series for Guyana, taking a 2-0 lead against Luciana Cruz, only for the Bolivian to roar back and win three straight sets, including a 12-10 decider.

In the final match, Samara Sukhai went down 3-0 to Luciel Antequera, handing Bolivia the overall victory.

Guyana’s campaign in the Mixed Team event also ended with a 3-0 defeat to Peru, ending their run in that category.

Guyana will also compete in Athletics, Tennis, Badminton, 3×3 Basketball, and Chess in Panama in the coming days.

FULL RESULTS: https://results.panama2026.org/#/schedule/disciplines