Ghana has been blessed with boxers who have proven over the years that they are capable of winning titles and projecting the name of Ghana high.
Many people only remember, Prof. Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey, Joshua Clottey, Joseph Agbeko, Richard Harrison Lartey, Charles Quartey, Dr. Ofori Asare, David Kotei, Manyo Plange, Nana Yaw Konadu among others.
Ghana has presented many sportsmen and women at the Olympic games since 1960 and has recorded some success in two sporting disciplines since that time till the current.
A survey was conducted by BoxinGhana.com to ascertain whether boxing lovers remember Ghanaian boxers who have made history in the field of boxing both in the Olympics and Commonwealth games and it was nothing to be excited about.
Targeting 15 random people who attested to the fact of loving boxing and having followed boxing since old, it was assumed we would have majority who could mention just one name who won a medal at either the Olympic games or the commonwealth but none from the 15 selected persons was able to.
Ghana in the field of sport was projected to the world by Boxers as Ghana had not reached same with any other sporting discipline and as such boxers who hoisted the flag of Ghana should not easily be forgotten.
Many Ghanaians would not remember Clement Quartey because they probably haven’t heard anything about him before, but he made history for Ghana as the first to win a silver medal at the 1960 Olympic games in Rome. His medal was a steppingstone and motivation to other sportsmen who followed and are still following suit.
Eddie Blay followed suit four years after Clement has won the silver medal to win a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to become the second Ghanaian to mount the medal podium.
In 1972, eight years after Ghana had recorded its second Olympic medal, Prince Amartey fought in the middleweight division at the Olympic games in Munich and won for Ghana another bronze medal and the third which the country had been boasting about.
In recent times, Samuel Takyi who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games with two other teammates showed promise and the former won a bronze medal for the country.
How is Ghana handling the success of these athletes who have fought tirelessly to ensure they won these medals? Jessie Lartey, at the Commonwealth games was the only Ghanaian athlete to win a medal at the Gold Coast games in 2018,
Abdul Wahid Omar also won the only medal for Ghana at the Commonwealth games in Scotland among others whose names are lost in the minds of Ghanaians and boxing lovers at large.
Sulemanu Tetteh who was the general captain to the Ghanaian contingent at the just ended Tokyo Olympic games has represented Ghana both at the commonwealth games and Olympics and portrayed excellent leadership qualities.
Would our Olympic and Commonwealth medalists as well as participants be written off within a twinkle of an eye or can the authorities both from the Ghana Olympic Committee as well as Ghana Education Service (GES) and others start to inculcate their names and the history they made for mother Ghana?
Many have started to ask authorities on social media to ensure Olympic and Commonwealth representatives be employed to the various services but is it what they need?
BoxinGhana.com will follow up with these Olympians and Commonwealth heroes as they share their story and journey through the heats and hardship to the world stage.
Written by: Nana Kojo Sakyie Eduafo-Quansah
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