Ghana’s Joseph Commey defeated Alan Oaike of the Papau New Guinea to qualify to the quarter finals of the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham via a round two TKO.
According to reports, the 18-year-old featherweight boxer and Ghana’s medal hopeful was too hot for his opponent to handle and dominated the fight to progress to the next stage of the competition.
He joins middleweight boxer Abdul Wahid Omar and bantamweight prodigy Abraham Mensah as three Ghanaians to have qualified to the quarter finals and would require another win to head into the medal zone.
Speaking after the fight, Commey explained that, he was very disciplined and listened to instructions from his coaches to emerge victorious.
“I went in with a plan and made sure I carried out the instructions from the coaches to win the fight and qualify to the next stage,” he stated.
He promised to continue working hard to get to the semifinals and do well to win a medal for the country.
The tough pugilist is said to have also sworn to write a new page in Ghana’s boxing record by winning gold – and become the nation’s first boxer to do so.
Commey, who is popularly known as Jaguar in boxing circles, is expected to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In swimming, Zaira Forson will be competing in the tough 200 metres butterfly at 10:42am today, after which Abeiku Jackson will take his turn for the 50 metres Freestyle at 10:55am.
Another starlet Nubia Adjei will also contest in the specialised 50 metres backstroke which is scheduled for 11:10am.
Of the 57 medals won by Ghana in 16 previous appearances, boxing accounted for 32 (15 gold, 18 silver and 24 bronze), making it the most successful sport at the Commonwealth Games.
Jesse Lartey emerged Ghana’s sole medallist with a bronze medal in the last competition in Gold Coast, Australia. Before then in Glasgow, Scotland, Abdul Wahid Omar was one of two medallists for Ghana.
Ghana’s first medal was provided by Robert Kotei who won bronze in the men’s long jump event at the 1958 Games in Cardiff, Wales.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
