The president of the Ghana Amateur Boxing Federation (GABF), George Lamptey, has urged the Ministry of Sports to support boxers who have qualified for next year’s Olympic Games.
Earlier this week, Samuel Takyi and Sulemana Tetteh, who have both qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, resumed training with coaches for the first time since March 2020. The two athletes had been training alone following the ban on contact sports in March.
Speaking to #AsaaseSports about their preparations for the Games, Lamptey said that although their coaches and the GABF would do whatever was necessary to prepare the boxers, the Sports Ministry needs to support their efforts.
“The boxers resumed training with their coaches this week. We will do whatever it takes to get the boxers to a level where winning a medal at the Olympics becomes very likely.
“This is the time for the Sports Ministry to come on board. Because we need to create an enabling environment, train them under the best conditions possible so they can make us proud,” he said.
Preparation for tournaments
Lamptey said the culture of promising enticing bonus packages to boxers on the national team before tournaments must cease. He said it would be wise to invest in preparation instead.
“I cannot discount the importance of motivating the boxers for these events, but it’s about time we invest as much, if not more, in their preparation.
“We cannot always abandon them at the preparation stage and then turn around to make promises when they are leaving for the tournament. Without the right preparation, they will never have enough in them to win medals.
“So we need to take a look at this culture and focus on preparing the boxers and all athletes, for that matter,” he said.
Victor Atsu Tamakloe
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