Bicknell off to winning start at CAC Games, young Reggae Girlz draw
Published:Sunday | July 2, 2023 | 1:54 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
JAMAICA’S BLAISE Bicknell got the perfect start to his 2023 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games campaign yesterday.
Bicknell had a comfortable, commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over Puerto Rico’s Marko Mesarovic to move to the round of 16.
Things did not go as smoothly for Bicknell’s teammate John Chin, who found himself no match for El Salvador’s Cesar Cruz. Chin would lose in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
In football, Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz followed up their 5-2 loss to El Salvador in the opening round of Group B action in San Salvador to register their first points of the competition, courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Puerto Rico.
Shaniel Buckley put the Reggae Girlz on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute, equalising after Jillienne Aguilera’s 19th-minute penalty had put the Puerto Ricans ahead.
Jamaica will play in their final Group B game against Mexico on Monday at 6 p.m.
DEFEAT FOR WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM
In the meantime, Jamaica’s women’s hockey team suffered their third straight defeat at the CAC Games, following a 5-0 hammering from Mexico.
The Jamaicans, who were looking for their first victory following defeats of 4-0 to Trinidad and Tobago and 6-0 to Cuba, were facing a 4-0 deficit by the halfway mark, as victory was wrapped up by the third period of play.
The ruthless Mexicans got goals from Katherine Rivera, Arlette Estrada, Grecia Mendoza, Sofia Perez, and Dayana Cueva.
The Nicole Bradshaw-coached team will finish off their campaign tomorrow when they face Bermuda at 9:15 a.m. Jamaica time.
Competing in the Men’s Freestyle 125kg category of the wrestling competition at the CAC Games, Jamaica’s Aaron Johnson got bronze following a 6-2 victory over Nicaragua’s Yadir Cerda.
Johnson teammate, Jordan Mitchell, fell just short of the bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 65kg, suffering an 8-0 defeat to Colombia’s Uber Cuero in the semi-final.