Sports

…Upcoming Olympic Games Nation will demand medals from athletes -Mustapha Yussif

The Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr. Mustapha Yussif, says the nation will demand medals from athletes at the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Consequently, he has asked athletes that have qualified and those chasing qualification to work hard to win medals.

According to the Sports Minister, the necessary resources would be made available for qualified athletes to ensure that they make the nation proud at the competition.

“As long as athletes would represent Ghana at the Olympic Games, we would demand medals from them and they must endeavour to deliver,” he stated.

The minister made the remarks when he interacted with new executives of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) in Accra last Monday.

His stance was in response to concerns raised by the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah over support for the Ghanaian athletes at the Games.

Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah suggested that, government finds a long term support plan for athletes in order to prepare adequately for such competitions and equally win medals.

According to Nunoo Mensah, “until we have such long term investments and preparation, it would be unfair to always demand medals from athletes especially with limited resources and inadequate preparations.”

But the Minister in his response said, efforts have been made to assist athletes the best way possible to win medals at the Olympic Games scheduled for July/August this year.

“We will work closely with the GOC to develop talents for the upcoming Olympic Games and subsequent ones,” he stated.

Ultimately, he said, investing in Ghana’s youth in sports and other areas remained the best resource for Ghana’s developmental agenda.

“We would also give attention to all sporting disciplines in the country because there are many talents that could be tapped into to enhance our country’s image on the international scene,” he stated.

He urged athletes to continue working hard to qualify for the Olympic Games and win laurels for the country.

BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE

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