By Rihana Adam
Accra, Nov. 5, GNA – The Ghana Para-Powerlifting team has presented medals won at the just ended 2022 Cairo African Open Para Powerlifting Championship in Egypt, to the Minister for Youth and Sports (MOYS), Mr. Mustapha Ussif in Accra.
Mr. Ussif expressed gratitude to the coaches and athletes for their splendid performance in the competition and thanked the team for lifting the flag of Ghana high.
The team won ten medals at the end of the competition, which served as a qualification mark for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Ghana won four gold, four silver and two bronze medals in all, with Oku Emmanuel Nii Tettey recording the best lift in the entire competition.
The minister said the government was committed to support para sports to participate in the upcoming competitions.
He said, “On behalf of the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, I want to congratulate you all for the massive victory that you have won for yourselves and Ghana in far away Egypt.
“I know the para powerlifting team your commitment, dedication and hard work whenever you are given the opportunity, I have been vindicated.
“I want to assure you that, you would have the support of the government, ministry, and the people of Ghana as you are going to embark on the Olympic journey and we can only hope that you go there and make Ghana and Africa proud by coming home with medals,” he noted.
He added that in the history of para sport, no government had ever supported the team with training equipment apart from this current government.
“We supported you with benches to train and this is the result we have. I don’t think any government has done that before.
“We are open to support all sports, despite having over 60 sporting federations.
“The resources are limited but whatever we can do to make sure that everybody gets his first share, we would do,” the minister added.
He assured them that the government would support the team to prepare adequately for the Olympics Games in Paris 2024.
GNA