BERLIN, Germany — Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) men’s unified football team recorded two wins in as many outings in preliminary round action to highlight the start of the country’s campaign at the 2023 World Games on Sunday.

In seven-a-side action the Jamaicans defeated hosts Germany ‘2’ 3-1, then eased past Singapore 3-0 at Olympiapark. However, the women’s football team did not fare so well, going down 4-1 to their counterparts from Germany.

In the early match both the SOJ and SO Germany ‘2’ men’s unified teams exchanged chances over the 20 minutes of intense, first-half action.

But after surviving a few close scares Jamaica took the lead when substitute Dillion Richards and Tajay Able traded passes before the latter finished with a left footer from close range.

Only moments later it was 2-0 when Richards wheeled his way free to score with a crisp, right-footed effort.

And the Jamaicans grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when Ricardo Saunders put the ball on a platter for Damion Gordon to stroke home their third of the match.

Germany got on the scoresheet with the final kick of the match, Jan Sonntag blasting an effort past Jamaican goalkeeper Oryan Williams.

“The team played well… [against] a disciplined German team that was hard to break down,” Jamaica Head Coach Shane Richards told the Jamaica Observer.

“We remained disciplined and saved energy while they were running very hard. We brought on fresh legs and scored late and then we got the other goals. But while our goalkeeper was brilliant I didn’t like the way we gave up a soft goal,” he added, noting that they were “much more comfortable” in defeating Singapore in the late afternoon match.

Women’s team Coach Karen Darby was gracious and optimistic after Aaliyah Trevelen scored their lone goal in the lopsided defeat to Germany.

“The better team won today,” Darby said. “Loss is a part of the sport and we can only use this as a learning process to improve ourselves. What matters now is that the team maintains a positive mindset. Every winner was once a contender who never gave up, and we are winners.”

SOJ swimmers also made their mark on Sunday with Tasheanna Bailey, Andrew McIntosh and Andrew Bartholomew all advancing in their respective divisions for the 25-metre freestyle at the Europasportpark (SSE) aquatic venue.

Kadian Ingleton, who competed in the 1500m open water event at Grünau, also made it through the divisioning process.

Aquatics Coach Brittany Williams said the staff and swimmers are “proud” of the performances so far and are anticipating “exciting results” over the course of the Games.

On the court at Messe Berlin, SOJ’s mixed unified volleyball team had mixed results in their preliminary match-ups. They defeated Italy (21-13) and Bangladesh (18-17) but lost 15-26 to Slovakia.

In badminton singles action Kile Ford lost 6-21 to Hong Kong opponent Pak Hiu Tam in a preliminary contest to determine which division he will compete in.

On the track at Olympiapark, Richard Smikle and Sheneel Williams won their respective races in the preliminary men’s and women’s events while Allan Gordon was fifth in his divisional outing.

Unified sports bring people with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team during competition.

The intellectual disabilities can either be acquired or genetic, and can include cases of cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism, and traumatic brain injury.