Ghanaian Athletics coach, Anselm Nyavadzie has lamented on the neglect of coaches in the country by the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).
According to him, the local coaches who trained the athletes to have qualified for the Olympic Games deserve to be part of the team to Tokyo.
“We are not happy because if you look at the athletes who have qualified for the Olympic Games, it is the local coaches who brought them up before they got their scholarships in the USA but the coaches that are selected to take them to Tokyo are coaches who don’t know the athletes and they have never brought or produce any athlete for Ghana so how come they are the ones taking the athletes to Tokyo, not the local coaches”, he said in an interview on Wamputu Sports with Odiasempa Kwame Oware.
“When I asked how the coaches are selected to take the national teams a competition, they told me that it is the prerogative of the president who is Professor Dodoo. He is the only person who decides which coach can travel. I have asked this question twice and I am not happy about it.”
Reacting to the above issues raised, board member of the Ghana Athletics Association [GAA], Charles Osei Assibey stated “As Ghana Athletics Association, our focus and concentration is the Olympics games which the president of the land charged us to go and deliver.
“We are deaf to all the noise people are making or whatever they saying. We are focused and the athletes are also focused .We are not concerned about it.”
“As we speak, we are still making engagement on how our athletes can bring laurels to the nation.Obviously you can’t please everybody because even Black Stars when the first 11 team is named or when the selection is done, some supporters are not happy.Even the recent game between Hearts and Kotoko, some supporters were not happy with the selection of the players.”-he added.
The track and field athletes have requested and been granted permission to continue their preparations in the USA ahead of the games and will join up with the rest of the team in Nawashiro one week before competition starts in the Asian country.
Ghana’s qualified athletes for Tokyo so far:
Anani Kwadjo – Judo
Suleymanu Tetteh -Boxing
Samuel Takyi -Boxing
Shakul Samed -Boxing
Nadia Eke – Triple Jump
Joseph Amoah – 100m, 200m
Benjamin Azamati – 100m, 200m
Forrester Osei – Weightlifting
Christopher Amoah – Weightlifting
Abeiku Jackson – Swimming (wild card)
Zaira Forson – Swimming (wild card)
4x100m Relay team (4 athletes, plus Amoah and Azamati for a team of 6)
