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• New beginning: T&T’s Andre Raymond at home with St Johnstone after jail-time disrupted opportunity with SC Braga

  Trinidad and Tobago's Andre Raymond knows all too well that opportunities in football often come with their fair share of challenges and setbacks. Though those setbacks are sometimes harrowing, much like his jail-time experience in Portugal, Raymond, like the professional he is, has learned to smile in the face of adversity.

  In fact, it is Raymond's resilience and determination that ensured a bad situation took a positive turn and brought him back on track to pursue his professional dreams, as he recently signed with St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership, where he had an encouraging start in a 2-0 win over Morton on Saturday.

  “I was very happy with my debut. I needed to get some minutes in the tank and build a bond with the team and the intensity was really high—it was really good,” said Raymond, whose last competitive outing was a friendly international against Guyana in May.

  “I didn’t know the coach [Craig Levein] had asked Dan [Phillips] about me. Then, in March, I got a phone call saying he was interested. He’d done some research and liked what he saw, so things started moving then. I made my mind up straight away; I wanted to join St Johnstone because the Scottish league is a top league,” he told The Courier.

  Prior to his move to Scotland, Raymond, whose speed, defensive acumen, and ability to contribute offensively made him a sought-after player, caught the eye of scouts from various clubs, including SC Braga, one of Portugal’s top football teams.

  The opportunity to sign with Braga seemed like the perfect next step in Raymond’s burgeoning career. However, his aspirations were abruptly halted by an unexpected turn of events.

  

  During his trip to finalize the deal with SC Braga, Raymond was detained by Portuguese authorities for overstaying on a previous visit. This oversight resulted in him being thrown into prison for two days.

  “I was at university in America and did one semester. While I was at home, my friend was going with an academy team to Spain. I was dropping him off at the airport, and the coach of his team asked me what I was doing and why I wasn’t playing football and going with them,” Raymond recalled.

  “He wanted me to go with them, so he spoke to my dad about it, but my mom was saying, ‘No way, you have to go back to school,” he shared.

  In the end, Raymond managed to persuade his parents, and a few days later, he joined the Academy team in Spain for the tournament.

  “After that, we went to Portugal, and I ended up with Braga, but then some stuff happened—I got arrested because we’d been away from home for so long, and I ended up staying for four months instead of three. I went back home to get my documents and then back to Portugal for pre-season with Braga, but they didn’t let me in and threw me in jail,” Raymond explained.

  “I was in there for two days; it was horrible. I was allowed a 15-minute phone call and locked in a cell. I know it was only two days, but that was enough. It was a new experience, that’s for sure, and I wouldn’t want anyone to go through it,” he added.

  The detention not only affected Raymond personally but also jeopardized his professional prospects. The deal with SC Braga fell through as the club, wary of the legal complications, decided not to proceed.

  

  For Raymond, it was a devastating blow, as the young defender was on the brink of a significant career milestone.

  “They sent me back to Trinidad, and I had to spend three months out of Europe before I could go back. But, because of the length of time it was, Braga had moved on and signed another left-back, and that left me without a club.

  “I felt like giving up football again, to be honest, but I got the chance to sign for Vilar De Perdizes, so I decided to do that. My mom wanted me to go back to school, but my dad said I should push on and keep going,” Raymond revealed.

  Through resilience and his father’s unwavering support, the now 23-year-old continued to push and inevitably caught the attention of St Johnstone through a timely referral from his Soca Warriors teammate Dan Phillips.

  Now a part of the St Johnstone squad, Raymond is eager to leverage his skills and experiences to help the Perth-based club succeed while continuing to develop as a player.

  “I spent the last few months of the season watching the team play, looking at the players, the style of play, and the atmosphere in the stadium. All the time I was speaking to the manager and hoping they would stay in the Premiership, and I was very happy that they did,” Raymond said.

  “I wanted Dan to stay, but he has goals and aspirations of his own. We still speak a lot. He told me to come here because it’s a good club and I would fit in here. He said that my style of play would match up with Scottish football, and I’m feeling that too because I like to defend, but I also like to get forward,” he ended.

• Murray confirms retirement after Olympics

  Andy Murray has confirmed he will retire after the Olympic Games in Paris.

  The 37-year-old is set to compete in both the men's singles and doubles at what will be his fifth Olympics.

  Murray first competed in Beijing in 2008 and won his first gold medal four years later in London with a straight-sets victory over Roger Federer.

  He then became the first male player to win two singles titles at the Games by beating Juan Martin del Potro in Rio in 2016.

  In a post on X, Murray wrote: "Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament.

  "Competing for Team GB has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I'm extremely proud to get to do it one final time!"

  Murray made his final appearance at Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion, before the Olympics, suffering a first-round defeat with brother Jamie in the doubles.

  He later received an emotional tribute on Centre Court to mark his achievements at the tournament. 

• Zverev confident of retaining Olympic gold despite injury concerns

  Alexander Zverev is confident of claiming a second Olympic gold medal at the Paris games despite picking up an injury at Wimbledon earlier this month. 

  Zverev slipped during his third-round triumph against Cameron Norrie in SW19, bowing out of the competition in a five-set to Taylor Fritz in the following round. 

  The world number four has since competed in the Hamburg Open, a title he won a year ago, but fell at the final hurdle to Arthur Fils in a decisive final set tie-break. 

  Zverev, who became the first German to win an Olympic gold medal in singles since Steffi Graf did so in 1988, beat Karen Khachanov in the final in Tokyo four years ago.

  The German described his injury as a bone edema and torn capsule and said that it did not require surgery ahead of the games. 

  "To be honest, you know, the risk will stay for the next two, three, four weeks maybe because that's how long the bone heals, and that's what everybody told me," Zverev said.

  "But, at the end of the day I also knew that I don't want to rest for four weeks because, now we're playing on the surface where I don't see that big of a risk of doing the same motion again and doing the same movement again."

  The tennis will take place at Roland Garros, a venue well-known to Zverev who reached the French Open final earlier this year, losing out on a first grand slam title to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets. 

  Zverev is also on the shortlist of German athletes who could be flagbearer for the nation during Friday's opening ceremony.

  "If someone told me that I should walk in as a flag bearer, it would mean even more to me, to be honest (than winning the Olympics)," Zverev was quoted by SpilXperten.

  "Leading an entire nation and so many top German athletes into the Olympics is simply the greatest honour an athlete can receive.

  "And of course, the gold medal I won at the last Olympics is one of the highest achievements you can have in sports and for me personally the greatest success in my career."