Hot!
Unto us, a sport is born!
• Mr Charles Osei Asibey – GAF President
A few years ago when arm-wrestling emerged as a new sports discipline on an already over-loaded sports scene, many did not anticipate it will soon be the rock on which Ghana sports would stand.
It was not, as it were, an entirely new sport. It was more or less a traditional sport among both young and old; male and female but extremely popular among the youth.
For them, it was purely a way to prove the stronger of the two.
But how Charles Osei Asibey, the Barrister with no background in law, managed to turn this into a sport that could suddenly turn the fortunes of Ghana over 360 degrees is what many sports federation bosses must learn.
In such an encouraging performance from a 13th African Games hosted by Ghana, it is proper to hail the entire team including those who could not make it to the podium.
Their sparring sessions, contribution in training, encouragement and words of motivation inspired the winners on to win their respective medals. It may therefore sound someway trying to single out a particular discipline for praise.
It can be likened to a popular scripture in the Holy Bible found in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (KJV).
It reads: “I (Paul) have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
So neither did he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”
From the above, every member of Team Ghana, be it individuals or federations becomes one and must share in the glory.
But as human as we are, surely, some special praise would be heaped on the Golden Arms who breathed life into the campaign. Let’s not forget we are also commanded to give to Caesar what is Caesar.
So from nowhere through the sheer strength and resilience of a female weightlifter, Winnifred Ntumi, Ghana’s first medal seed was planted, registering Ghana on the medal table with a gold and two silver medals.
Just a day after, Abeiku Jackson fetched swimming the first of two medals garnered at the Games and while we waited, the Golden Arms dropped the medal overdose, registering 41 medals comprising eight gold, 19 silver and 14 bronze.
That was unprecedented and cannot pass without a special mention.
Until this feat, Ghana’s highest medal haul was pegged at 27, a feat attained during the 1973 edition of the Games held in Nigeria.
Even if Ghana were to set a new medal record in the Games, arm-wrestling was surely not one of the disciplines uninitiated fans would expect our achievement to come from.
But from the inception of the sport as one of the ‘children’ of the National Sports Authority (NSA), arm-wrestling has maintained some level of consistency, sweeping medals for fun at international meets; they have been very dominant.
Without mincing words, ‘Barrister’ Osei Asibey has done a yeoman’s job worth emulating by all although the dynamics differs as far as the respective disciplines are concerned.
But the Ghana Armwrestling Federation (GAF) must guard against complacency. They must not rest on their oars because it will mark the beginning of a fierce ‘war’ with other competitors.
Like the popular saying, behind every successful man, there is a woman but in the case of the ‘Barrister’, he has been lucky to have a strong and buoyant board to indeed make arm-wrestling a sport of choice.
The Executive Board of GAF includes Pahrm. Kofi Addo Agyekum (Vice President), Mr Jesse Agyepong (General Secretary), Mr Godfrey William Amarteifio (Finance & Administration), Mr Edwin Amankwah (Operations), Mr Jonathan Lambert Nii Okai Awuletey (Marketing & Communication), Mr Husseini Akueteh Addy (Technical Director), Dr. Marc Dzradosi (Medical), DCOP Lydia Donkor (Director, Corporate Affairs), Mr Robert Appiah Ameyaw, Mr Norbert Kwankye (Members).
These men and women have provided a solid foundation on which arm-wrestling has been established and as they keep working hard to remain at the top, the whole world would consider Ghana a force as the arm-wrestling agenda is pushed to the Olympics.
By Andrew Nortey
Hot!
ASWIM lauds Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
The Association of Women in the Media, (ASWIM) has congratulated Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on her historic achievement as Ghana’s first female Vice President.
The association said her trailblazing journey with sterling accomplishments from academia to politics, is undoubtedly, a vivid inspiration to countless women and girls across Ghana and Africa.
This was contained in a statement signed by its president, Mrs Mavis Kitcher, and copied to The Spectator on Tuesday in Accra.
“ASWIM celebrates your remarkable career, marked by numerous firsts, including the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, (UCC), and the first female to hold a professional chair in Ghana, (UCC),” the statement said.
It said the accomplishments of Prof Opoku- Agyemang were clear testament to the brilliance, resilience and resourceful nature of the complete beautiful African woman.
“As she takes on this new role, ASWIM proudly lauds her commitment to education, women’s empowerment, distinguished public service and patriotism and is very confident that her pursuit of excellence, love for humanity, humility, decency, modesty and commitment to the welfare of the vulnerable will characterise Ghana’s political leadership and public service,” the statement added.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
Entertainment
Demolition of Fantasy Dome unfair — Mark Okraku-Mantey
Months after the Fantasy Dome was dismantled to make way for construction at the Ghana International Trade Fair site, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Mark Okraku-Mantey, has expressed concern over the manner the facility was destroyed.
In an interview on Daybreak Hitz with Andy Dosty, Mr Okraku-Mantey criticised the handling of the dome’s dismantling, suggesting that it could have been done without causing damage.
“I don’t think that leadership gave instructions that they should do what happened. The structure was a prefab but I hear the people destroyed it. That one, we cannot defend it. It is unfair to him (owner). Sometimes, you give instructions and people will go and do things that will make you look bad,” he stated.
When asked about any punitive measure against the workers responsible for the destruction, Mr Okraku-Mantey clarified that the Trade Fair does not fall under his ministry.
He said he had previously contacted the owner, Leslie Quaynor, to discuss relocating the dome, and even suggested the National Museum as a potential site, though it was too small.
The demolition of the 20,000-seater Fantasy Dome occurred on March 16, 2024.
According to Dr Agnes Adu, CEO of the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited, the action was taken after multiple notices were given to Quaynor to vacate the premises for redevelopment, as per their tenancy agreement.
Dr Adu noted that all previous tenants had complied except for the Fantasy Dome.
Quaynor, in an interview with JoyNews, confirmed that his lease had ended, and was in the process of relocating the dome.
He had requested an extension, which was denied, leading him to seek a writ and an injunction from an Accra High Court to halt the demolition.
Despite this, the demolition proceeded, causing significant damage to the structure.
Quaynor described the incident as a major setback, not only for his business but also for the entertainment industry, which relies on venues like the Fantasy Dome.
