With the 32nd Olympiad being held in Tokyo gradually coming to an end, all 14 Ghanaian participants have had their turns with some making positive strides in their respective sporting disciplines.
With Ghana represented in Athletics, Boxing, Judo, Swimming and Weightlifting, some new national records and personal bests were set by some Ghanaian athletes and at this year’s Olympics could be described as one of the most successful outings by Ghana in recent times.
Boxing
For the first time in 29 years, the sport of boxing once again placed Ghana on the medal table after Samuel Takyi won bronze in the men’s featherweight division, having reached the semi-final stage.
Despite losing to America’s Duke Ragan in the semis, Takyi joins the likes of Prince Amartey (Bronze), Clement Quartey (Silver) and Eddie Blay (Bronze) who have all won medals at Olympics for Ghana.
Sulemanu Tetteh who was making his second appearance at the Olympics having debuted in London 2012 could only reach the round of 16 having defeated Dominican Republic Boxer Rodrigoi Marte de la Rose in the flyweight division.
Shakul Samed who drew a bye in the Round of 32 couldn’t progress into the quarter-finals after he suffered a knockdown against Turkish boxer Bayram Maikan in the Round of 16 of the men’s heavyweight division.
Field and Track
Nadia Eke who was Ghana’s flag bearer at this year’s Olympics competed in the women’s triple jump event but couldn’t progress to the next round.
The experienced jumper made three illegal attempts during her sessions, therefore, had to exit the competition having subsequently retired from the sport.
Benjamin Azamati who holds the national record of 9.97s in 100m could only place fourth in the Heats with a time of 10.13s as he couldn’t progress to the semi-finals.
Joseph Paul Amoah came third in the men’s 200m heat with an impressive time of 20.35s which enabled him feature in the semis but missed out on a place in the finals having finished fourth.
Ghana’s quartet of Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Amoah, Joseph Manu and Sean Sarfo-Antwi reached the finals of the men’s 4x100m for the first time since Atlanta1996 with an impressive 38.08 which is the new national record.
Unfortunately for the quartet, they were disqualified in the finals after a miscalculated baton exchange.
Sarfo Ansah and Emmanuel Yeboah were the reserves of the 4×100 relay team.
Swimming
In swimming, Abeiku Jackson who was making his second appearance at Olympics having debuted in Rio 2016 came first in the heat of the 100m Butterfly but his time of 53.39 was not enough for him to progress to the next stage of the competition.
Unilez Takyi who holds the national record in the 50m freestyle (27.49s) placed eighth in the heats with a time 27.85s as she was unable to press to the next stage of the event.
Weightlifting
Ghana’s only weightlifter at this year’s Olympics, Christian Amoah was making his second appearance at the Olympics having debuted in Rio, 2016.
He could only place fourth in Men’s 96kg category with a snatch of 145kg and Clean & Jerk of 170 totalling 315 which couldn’t aid his progress to the next round.
Judo
Sansei Kwadjo Anani who represented Ghana in the 90kg could not progress to the next round of the competition having lost to a more experienced South Korean Gwak Dong-Han.
Despite the setback, Sensei Kwadjo is one of the most successful Judo athletes in Ghana having won a silver medal in the African Championships in Senegal.
