Dr Kwaku Ofosu Asare, chairman of the Local Organizing Committee for the recently concluded 2023 African Games, has conceded that Ghana could have better prepared its athletes for the competition, potentially leading to even greater success in the medal tally.
Despite Ghana’s commendable achievement of securing 68 medals at the games, including 19 gold, 29 silver, and 20 bronze, Dr. Ofosu Asare believes there was room for improvement.
Reflecting on the performance, Dr. Ofosu Asare emphasised the importance of investing in athlete development and preparation. He expressed concerns about the missed opportunity for Ghana to win more medals, emphasising the need for increased investment in athletes.
“As a host [Ghana], we should have put in more investment to prepare our athletes. We shouldn’t get carried away with these marvelous achievements. We need to invest to move to the next level. We shouldn’t be complacent at all,” Dr. Ofosu Asare emphasized in an interview with Citi TV.
SILVER🇬🇭🇬🇭
Ghana's Male 4x100m relay team won African games Silver in a time of 38.43s
🇳🇬 Nigeria won Gold in a time of 38.41s
Congrats… pic.twitter.com/bZVMZfWrFn
— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) March 20, 2024
Highlighting the significance of infrastructure development, Dr. Asare commended the newly built facilities that aided in organizing the competition. He identified these infrastructural improvements, particularly in lesser-discipline sports, as a significant legacy achieved by the nation.
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While Ghana showcased impressive performances in disciplines such as arm-wrestling, athletics, and boxing, the host nation ultimately settled for sixth place on the final medal standings behind Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, and Tunisia.