Ghana ‘may square up’ with USA, UK for Olympic medals with focus on boxing – Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye has expressed optimism about Ghana’s ability to “square up” against the United States and other top nations at the Olympic Games for medals with adequate attention to boxing.

Ghana has won five medals at the global showpiece, four of which have come from boxing.

Boxer Samuel Takyi is the most recent winner, claiming a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – Ghana’s first podium finish in 29 years – after defeating Colombia’s 32-year-old David Ceiber Avila in the quarter-finals.

The Black Meteors, who won one medal in 1992, have not qualified for the tournament since 2004.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Vanderpuye called for investment in the sport to enable the nation to compete with high-performing countries at the Olympics for honors.

“Boxing has achieved a lot for us. They’ve raised the flag of this country even more than football but we don’t give it the attention it deserves,” he said.

“If we could give a percentage of the attention we give to football to boxing and other sporting disciplines, maybe, we will not always be languishing at the last position on the medal table at the Olympic Games.

“We may be squaring it up with the Americans, the British, the Australians, and the Chinese on the medal table. I believe seriously that if we really want to achieve much in sports, we must be ready to invest in the sport.

Clement Quartey, Eddie Blay, and Prince Amartey are the other three Ghanaian boxing greats who claimed medals at the Olympics.

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