George Vire is now 89th in the world according to the latest rankings released by the World Archery Federation, becoming T&T’s highest ranked archer. Following in Vire’s footsteps is Rakesh Sookoo who moved into the top 100 for the first time and is ranked 99th. The two made strides into the top 100 following their return from the 20th Pan-American Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in May. In the ranking round of the championships, Sookoo and Vire finished 17th and 18th respectively with fellow team-mate Hasmath Ali placing 23rd. In the elimination round Ali lost in a one-arrow shoot off against Portillo of Honduras after both tied at 141. Both Sookoo and Vire won their first round matches but came up against top ranked archers in the 1/16 round and despite creditable performances were eliminated at this stage. In the team event, T&T ranked fourth ahead of some of the bigger countries in the region, specifically Argentina, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Honduras. In the elimination rounds the team won their first match against Costa Rica 220-201 however, despite an improved performance in the second round they lost 223-229 to hosts El Salvador.
El Salvador eventually won the gold medal against Mexico after both were tied at 228 with a perfect score of 30. The T&T team of Vire, Sookoo and Ali is currently ranked 41st in the world having moving 13 places up from 54th.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt