From setbacks to success: 2023 African Games captivates nation’s heart

By
Yaw Ofosu Larbi
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When the announcement of Ghana hosting the African Games hit the airwaves, there were many questions. The major one was “Can Ghana do it?” and so it began.

The opening ceremony was colourful, a rich cocktail of Ghana’s heritage and pride. Ghana had opened its doors and welcomed 5000 athletes who had come to compete in 30 disciplines.

The organisers were thoughtful enough to give the old and the new what they could enjoy. Shatta Wale lit up the crowd and then there was space for Pat Thomas and Ebo Taylor who rolled back the years to the 70s simpler times many, many from the old generation look back on with immense nostalgia.

Before the opening ceremony though, table tennis and badminton had already began and the problems began to linger. Badminton player, Leslie Addo made revelations that left many jaws open and furrowed brows of many Ghanaians.

“We are not treated properly. This morning we had to get here (Borteyman) in a bucket of our coach’s pickup. The shoes I was given were a size 37 and I wear 47. We are serving the country and we deserve better.”

His rant sparked a chain reaction of outbursts from several other athletes who felt hard done by the Sports Ministry and the Local Organizing Committee. The cycling team was at the summit of this mountain of what felt like complaints, excuses and difficulties.

The kerfuffle in the media and everywhere about the game dragged Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif into a press conference. “There are a lot of positives. There are a lot of positives. Let’s focus on them. Let’s all try to make this a successful tournament,” he said.

Positives? Swimming gave us a first taste of it. Abeiku Jackson won Ghana’s first-ever medals in the sport to the admiration of many in the arena. The atmosphere at the Aquatic Centre set the tone for the various centres across the city. Winifred Ntumi gave Ghanaians a show in weightlifting. She won one gold medal and two silver medals in her weight class. After Ghana’s earlier struggles, there was a seemingly good feeling about the games after the first few medal wins.

Fans began to throng the different venues watching sports they wouldn’t particularly be watching. There was wrestling, badminton, tennis, hockey and many others. Arm wrestling is one of those sports but it was the one that gave Ghana the most medals. 41 medals in one sport is as incredible as they come.

Boxing has always been one of Ghana’s best-performing sports but the surprising thing is before ACCRA 2023, Ghana had not won a Gold medal in the sport since 1991 when Stephen Dotse Koblah Ahialey picked it up in the flyweight class.

The Games here corrected that mishap and gave Ghana not one but four gold medals. Mohammed Aryeetey, Amadu Mohammed, Samuel Takyi and Joseph Commey are names that will go down in history. Samuel Takyi won bronze at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and is now a gold medalist, he was ecstatic.

“You know, it is what it is. I just want to thank the Almighty Adonai Yeshua Hamashiach. He is the one I want to thank. Also my parents and coach. I promised gold and delivered,” Takyi said with the hubris of Goliath.

This was not a football tournament but in the end, the sport provided a reminder of just how emotionally attached to it with full houses in Accra and Cape Coast. The sport gave Ghana an additional 2 gold medals.

The final week was all about the University of Ghana stadium and its world-standard athletic facilities and the fans genuinely enjoyed it.

Some of the athletes responded with performances that will live in the memory for long. For the first time ever, Ghana had a clean sweep in the high jump. Even though they had not met Olympic qualifying standards, they had an emotional connection with the fans. Cadman, a former Commonwealth Hall resident had his v-mates chanting his name throughout his routine.

One of the vandals in the stadium said “We came here to support our boys. In these Games, there are a lot of vandals and we came here to make sure we give them maximum support here in the University of Ghana which we are the lords of.”

Joseph Paul Amoah won gold in the 200m and then the women’s relay team settled for bronze as Nigeria ran away with the gold yet again. Nigeria’s relay team had a clean sweep in the men’s and women’s 4×100 relay race.

It was incredibly disappointing for many fans at the stadium when the Nigerian relay team crossed the line 0.02 seconds ahead of Ghana. A brief lapse in the baton change between Solomon Hammond on the third leg and Joseph Paul Amoah meant Ghana lost a few seconds going into the last 100m of the race.

William Amponsah was the star for Ghana in long-distance running. He picked up a silver medal in the half marathon. The one race that has caught the attention of many after the games is the women’s 10,000m race where Kenyan Janeth Chepngetich won over three Ethiopians in emotional fashion.

All in all, Accra 2023 delivered. From the earlier difficulties, it gave us a befitting finish. One that will live long in the memory of many Ghanaians.