Despite the worldwide acclamation for the splendid opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the perfect organization and state of the art sports facilities some nitwits who have no sense of decorum may wish to spoil the fun. This is the reason why I back the organizers in their bid to tighten security

A section of the usually fastidious mass media has already expressed concern about the emphasis on security that may stifle the down to earth humour associated with the Olympic Games. In fact some argue that the deployment of 100,000 anti terrorism personnel and the 300,000 surveillance cameras are rather on the high side. I beg to differ.

History should be our guide. It was these same complaints by a section of the media during the 1972 Munich Olympics that led to the relaxation of security that culminated in those Palestinian bandits sneaking into the Olympic Village to murder 11 Israeli athletes. The Germans had placed some restrictions on the media’s access to the Games Village hosting the athletes.

The media complained bitterly why they should be impeded from getting access to the athletes. Entry to the Games Village was subsequently relaxed and with the carnival atmosphere around those Palestinian rogues took advantage of the situation. In the wee hours of the day, wearing track suits they pretended to be some errant athletes returning from a disco outing, scaled the wall and succeeded in seizing 11 Israeli athletes. The rest is history. And it is this history that has put all subsequent Olympic Games organizers on the alert. From Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 to Athens 2004, security has been paramount. Beijing should be no exception.

The Beijing organizers know there is a risk that the emphasis on security and controls on journalists could squeeze the fun out of the Games but as the late International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage declared at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Olympic fraternity must not succumb to terrorists and every effort must be made to ensure a trouble free Olympic Games at all times.. I submit that Beijing is on the right track and they must be allowed to have a successful Olympiad to reap the gains of six years hard preparation and toil.

The Beijing Games is historic in many respects. The presence of many high profile heads of state at the space age opening ceremony added dignity to the occasion. It was quite emotional watching US President George Bush and President Kufuor of Ghana waving to an enthusiastic Olympic Games crowd for the last time in their official capacities as heads of government. The two gentlemen end their terms of office at the end of 2008.

It is not known whether President Bush had time to meet his Olympic contingent in Beijing but President Kufuor did. In a chat with the team comprising six boxers and three athletes Kufuor advised them not to suffer from stage fright because the other competitors were not super humans. “Know that the whole nation is behind you and that you qualified for the Games on merit meaning that you are competent to win medals” he said.

Perhaps not too comfortable with the small size of the contingent he expressed the hope that the days were coming when Ghana could send about a 200 member contingent to the Olympics.

It is on record that the 2008 contingent is the smallest since Ghana first took part in Olympic Games in Helsinki Finland in 1952 with six athletes.

The athletics team is made up of male sprinters Aziz Zakari (100m) Seth Amoh (200m) and lady sprinter Vida Anim(100m)

Both Aziz Zakari and Vida Anim were at the 2004 Athens Olympics and incidentally both of them crashed out with muscle pulls- Zakari in the 100m finals and Vida in the

second round heats. It is hoped they would show a much more improved performance this year.

Ghana has a proud record of one silver and two Olympic bronze medals and this year’s well prepared team could follow that enviable tradition.

An unsung Cuban coach who goes by the name Roberto Ibamez has taken the Ghanaian boxers through systematic training that saw them shining brilliantly in the African qualifying series in Namibia. After this the boxers had an intensive training tour of Cuba. Unfortunately not much publicity has been given to the exploits of these boxers The local media might have lost interest in the Beijing Olympics because their favourite football teams Black Satellites and Black Queens failed to qualify for the Games.

I have a sneaky feeling that the six man boxing team comprising lightweight Manyo Plange, light-welterweight Albert Neequaye, Middleweight Ahmed Sasraku, Light-middleweight Samir Bastir, welterweights Samir Issah and Prince Octopus Djanie are capable of giving Ghana some medals.

I can see in my minds eye the media giving the Cuban coach all the accolades after the Olympics when his boxers march to the Castle to receive honours from President Kufuor. And I can bet with my last cedi that for once the search for a coach for the senior national football team Black Stars will take a backstage.

You are welcome to the Beijing Olympics.