Ghana’s representatives at Youth Olympics promise to deliver

Ghana’s representatives at this year’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are optimistic of making themselves and the nation proud in their respective events.

The team, made up of Sandra Mensimah Owusu (weightlifting), Kelvin Carboo (beach volleyball), Solomon Diafo (athletics), Abeiku Jackson (swimming) and Eric Tsatsu (beach volleyball) left Accra for Buenos Aires last Saturday for the competition that takes place from October 6 to 18.

In separate interviews with the Graphic Sports before their departure, the athletes promised to take advantage of the opportunity given them, and also make good use of the resources made available to them and go all out to win laurels for the country.

“The ultimate of all these competitions is to win a medal and we are fortunate to get the opportunity to represent Ghana, so we have no option than to go all out to deliver the needed results at the Youth Olympic Games.

“Fortunately, we have companies like Ashfoam and Cocoa from Ghana, as well as the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports supporting us, so we are going to work hard to win medals to make them and the whole nation proud,” Tsatsu said with confidence.

Diafo expressed optimism about his chances in the men’s 400m: “We have been training for almost a month because, we have our sights set on winning medals. We are confident about going out there to lift the flag of Ghana high.”



Mensimah Owusu, the only female athlete among the team, described the chance as a dream ‘come true.’

“The trip is a dream come true and as you know, it’s every athlete’s aim to win a medal, especially when given the opportunity to represent her country and that is going to be my objective too. I don’t intend to return home empty-handed.

“I am focused on what I am doing because I really want to go far in this competition for myself and also for my country,” she said.

Mr Evans Yeboah, Chef de Maison of Team Ghana, also gave the assurance that the team would return to Ghana with medals, disclosing that a gold medal would attract a reward of $5,000, silver will go for $3,000 while bronze winner will receive $2,000.

The president of the GOC, Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah, urged the athletes to be inspired by the success story of Martha Bissah, who won gold in the 2014 edition of the Youth Olympic Games held in Nanjing, China.

Mr Nunoo Mensah called on other corporate entities to come on board, saying: “I want to appeal to corporate Ghana to support the GOC so that in return, we can help these young boys and girls to live their dreams.”

The Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Perry Okudzeto, who was around to wish the team well, urged the athletes to make good use of the resources at their disposal to win laurels for the nation, indicating that the ministry had made provision for athletes’ allowances, bonuses as well as kits for the team. Read Full Story