Africa-Press – Namibia. BOXER Jonas Junias Jonas got off to a great start at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday, but there were mixed fortunes for Namibia’s other competitors on the opening day of competition.
Competing in the light welterweight category, Jonas beat Colan Caleb of Nauru on a first round TKO after the referee stopped the fight 2:40 into the first round.
Jonas dominated from the outset as he controlled the centre of the ring and peppered Caleb with snappy left and right jabs.
Caleb offered little resistance and towards the end of the round Jonas trapped him in a corner, and after landing two powerful right hooks in quick succession the referee stepped in to give Caleb a mandatory eight second count.
After the count the referee decided that Caleb had had enough and called an end to the fight.
It was a great start for Jonas who won a gold medal at the previous Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast and will now be aiming to make it two in a row.
Jonas will now take on Rashield Williams of the Bahamas on Sunday.
In the Men’s Triathlon, Divan du Plooy came 25th out of 44 athletes who completed the race.
Du Plooy completed the race in 56 minutes 24 seconds which was 5:50 behind the winner, Alex Yee of England (50:34), while Hayden Wilde of New Zealand came second (50:47) and Matthew Hauser of Australia third (50:50).
Du Plooy was 29th out of the water and 27th on the cycling leg, but he made up some ground on the running leg where he posted the 10th fastest time.
Du Plooy was the third African triathlete behind two South Africans – Jamie Riddle who came sixth in 51:32 and Dylan Nortje who came 21st in 54:12.
In the women’s triathlon, Namibia’s two entrants, Anri Krugel (1:05:56) and Imke Jagau (1:06:12) came 23rd and 24th respectively.
Flora Duffy of Bermuda won gold in 55:25, followed by Georgia Taylor-Brown of England (56:06) and Beth Potter of Scotland (56:46).
Krugel and Jagau were the fifth and sixth Africans, finishing behind three South Africans – Simone Ackerman (8th), Shanae Williams (20th) and Hannah Newman (21st); and Julie Staub of Mauritius (22nd).
In lawn bowls, JP Fouche and Cabous Olivier lost their first Men’s Pairs match 16-14 to Wales, but bounced back with an impressive 33-4 victory against Jamaica.
Against Wales the Namibians started on the offensive, building up a 5-1 lead and then streaking ahead to 9-4 by the ninth end.
Wales however made a strong comeback and took a 11-10 lead by the 14th end.
Namibia pulled back to draw level at 12-12 by the 16th end but Wales regained the lead to win the match 16-14 after the 18th end.
In their second match, Jamaica took an early 3-0 lead but Namibia soon drew level and by the 5th end were leading 6-3. From there on they streaked ahead, going 11-4 up by the 8th end, 16-4 by the 10th end, 22-4 by the 13th end, and 27-4 by the 15th end, before completing a comprehensive 33-4 victory.
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