The President of the Ghana Olympics Committee (GOC), Ben Nunoo Mensah has stated that the Coronavirus pandemic may have a positive effect on Ghanaian athletes after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the Olympic Games due to the outbreak of COVID-19 globally as countries battle with the effects of the virus.
Ghana will have athletes representing in the postponed 2020 Games to be hosted by Tokyo in Japan.
According to the President of the GOC, the forwarding of the Olympic Games could be blessing in disguise as athletes will have enough time to prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
He, however, cautioned that the current situation could have a negative impact as late preparations for the athletes will not help the course when Ghana takes centre stage in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
He was speaking on a Zoom discussion on the Impact of Covid-19 on Ghana Sports on Happy FM and GTV Sports Plus on Wednesday.
“Postponement of the Olympics games is a form of blessings for us because we will have ample time to prepare for it”.
“If care is not taken, this blessing can be a curse because we are used to late preparations”
“Athletes can re-adjust their training programmes”.
Ghana has four athletes qualifying for the Tokyo Games which has been rescheduled for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Nadia Eke – Triple Jump, Joseph Paul Amoah – Sprinter, Samuel Takyie – Boxer, Sulemana Tetteh – Boxer.
The new dates for the Olympic Games are from Friday, 23 July 2021 to Sunday, 8 August 2021.