Even though Ghana could not make much headway in the just ended Africa hockey championship which she hosted, sports fans are fascinated by the excellent construction of the modern stadium that hosted the tournament. For the records, Ghana won women’s silver and men’s bronze.

It is the general belief that the construction of the hockey stadium in the city centre would be the forerunner for many such facilities for what is referred to as the lesser known sports disciplines. The fact is you can get a lot of people who are unhappy that so much attention is being paid to football much to the disadvantage of other sports disciplines.

Boxing (both amateur and professional) is a sport that has long put the name of Ghana on the international sporting circuit and many believe it deserves better attention than being enjoyed at the moment.

Starting with exploits of departed great professionals like, Vincent Okine (London Kid) Attuquaye Clottey, Roy Ankrah (The Black Flash), Love Allotey, Floyd Robertson and living legends David Kotey Poison, Azumah Nelson, Ike Bazooka Quartey and Nana Yaw Konadu, Ghana has always been associated with accomplished boxers. The amateur ranks can also boast of established names like Ike Quartey Snr, the late Eddie Blay, Sulley Shittu and many others.

Legendary Boxer Roy Ankrah

With all these great names with impeccable credentials, Ghana is yet to possess any credible boxing gymnasium of international repute and this is what boxing Professor Azumah Nelson thinks should be corrected in the shortest possible time.

Azumah, a great amateur in his youth, boasting a Commonwealth Games gold and as professional multiple world champion among the best pound for pound in the trade, told a TV interviewer the time was ripe for Ghana to invest in facilities for tapping boxing talents. Coming from a poor background, Azumah believes that sports (and for that matter boxing) is not for the rich and the nation would be caring for a great percentage of potential street children if time and money is spent on providing sports facilities in the most deprived communities specially.

Bukom, in the centre of Accra is the acknowledged cradle for boxing in the country and Azumah expects a modern boxing gym to be constructed there as a matter of priority to cater for the abounding boxing talents in the area.

Professor Azumah Nelson

The boxing legend is hoping the government would attach the same commendable approach to the promotion of hockey to that of boxing. “We have a lot of young boys up there hungry to fight for honours and we need good facilities to give them the right foundation in the sport” ,Azumah said.

The affable “boxing professor” says he is ever prepared to put his long experience gained in the sport at the disposal of the up and coming ones.

Observers of the sporting scene in Ghana are happy the hosting of the African hockey championships and its attendant provision of a modern international hockey stadium have succeeded in whipping interest in a game that used to be classified as a “lesser known sport”. Indeed the energetic chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association Oko Nikoi Dzane has pronounced at a post tournament dinner that hockey was no longer a lesser known sport and that he was going to seriously rub shoulders with the so called popular sports disciplines. I admire his enthusiasm and the can do attitude.

One person who must be extremely elated about the new image of hockey in the country is Mrs. Theodosia Okoh, the doyen of Ghana hockey. In view of frailty in age, she chose to watch all the action on TV and talking to her you could see she is a very proud octogenarian most grateful to the Almighty God for giving her a long enough life to see the seeds she sowed four decades ago reaping a good harvest.

Mrs Theodosia Okoh

Three cheers for Ghana hockey and a bright future for all the so called lesser known sports.

From My Archives (July 20th)

July 20th 1999: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth crowning his team’s “treble success”. He is the eighth football manager or player to receive a knighthood.

“Football management is such a pressurized thing-horse racing is a release. I am also learning to play the piano-I am quite determined. It’s another release from the pressure of my job” said Ferguson.

July 20 1996th: Most athletes, both professional and occasional do not eat the proper foods even though they can improve performance, according to a medical research. Nutrition is a weak link in athletes achieving their peak, said a Scientist who presented the research at an American Medical Association briefing in New York.