Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) Communications Director Charles Osei Asibey says Team Ghana’s goal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games is to win medals and make Ghanaians proud, not simply celebrate personal bests or national records.
His comments follow mixed results for Team Ghana in the opening days of the Games. On Sunday, July 26, Ghana’s women’s boxing campaign came to an end after Nancy Bamfo and Adelaide Dede Abaitey were both eliminated in the round of 16.
Bamfo lost 5-0 to Northern Ireland’s Nicole Clyde in the women’s 54kg division. Clyde recovered from a first-round knockdown before flooring Bamfo twice in the third round to seal a unanimous victory.
Abaitey also exited the women’s 57kg competition after a 5-0 defeat to Fiji’s Jasmine Duanakamakama.
There was better news in the men’s competition, where African Games champion Amadu Mohammed kept Ghana’s medal hopes alive with a first-round Referee Stops Contest (RSC) victory over Kiribati’s Eriu Temakau in the men’s 55kg round of 16. Mohammed needed just 1 minute, 54 seconds to book his place in the quarterfinals.
In swimming, Ivan Snowden missed the men’s 50m breaststroke semi-finals after finishing 49th overall in 31.63 seconds, while Unilez Takyi narrowly missed out on the women’s 100m freestyle semi-finals despite setting a personal best of 1:00.94.
Reflecting on Team Ghana’s performances, Asibey told Citi Sports on Monday, July 27, that although individual improvements are encouraging, the team’s ultimate objective is to win medals for Ghana.
For me, personal bests and national records are not what we look out for as the Commonwealth Games Association of Ghana. What we look out for is appeasing Ghanaians by winning medals.” he said
Despite the mixed start, Asibey remains confident that Team Ghana can still deliver strong performances as the Games progress, with several athletes yet to compete and medal opportunities still available.
We are still hopeful that the Team will win some medals. For the various federations, they see improvements, they see that there is future for the performances of thier respective athletes.
But looking at the other events coming up, we are still confident that, Ghana will win some medals.
The action continues on Monday, July 27, with a packed schedule featuring athletics, boxing and swimming as Team Ghana looks to boost its medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games.
Some of Ghana’s biggest names will be in action, including sprinters Benjamin Azamati, Isaac Botsio and Ghana’s fastest man, Abdul Rasheed Saminu, as they begin their campaigns on the track.
