Team Ghana is returning home in batches after competing at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and placing 30th on the medals table.
The first batch, including boxing bronze medalist Amadu Mohammed, has arrived.
Para athlete Zinabu Issah won silver in shot put, while Amadu Mohammed won bronze in boxing, becoming the most outstanding athlete at the Games.
Ghana presented 40 athletes to take part in athletics, boxing, cycling, judo, swimming, weightlifting and para sports.
The media is not informed about the number of officials who accompanied the team; however, with boxing, they had four coaches plus the president of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBA) represented.
Boxing has always been on the podium for Ghana, but it seems this time the Black Bombers could not meet the expectations of the people of Ghana and boxing fans.
In 2022 at the Games in Birmingham, Ghana won three medals in boxing, including silver and bronze. In 2018, the whole contingent won one bronze medal in boxing.
This year in Glasgow, things did not go as expected, and head trainer Dr. Ofori Asare declared he is not a magician to conjure the medals; preparations had not been good, and boxers were not getting their kits right.
For the President of the Federation, Dauda Fuseni, he did not want to promise, but hoped for an improvement in performance and medals.
The President of the Commonwealth Games Association, Ghana, Richard Akpokavie, was also optimistic initially from the preparations, but must be disappointed like all Ghanaians because the Team did not jell.
However, in boxing, India won ten medals, seven gold and three silver; England placed second with four gold, three silver and three bronze.
Among the African nations, Namibia did well to grab three medals; one silver and two bronze; Lesotho had two bronze, Zambia had two bronze, and Ghana had one bronze.
In total medal haul, Nigeria was the best for Africa as they collected a total of 24 medals comprising ten gold, seven silver and seven bronze; South Africa had 28 with seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze, while Kenya got three gold, four silver and five bronze.
Australia were the overall champions of the 2026 Commonwealth Games with 171 medals, made up of 70 gold, 45 silver and 56 bronze, England were second with 110 medals, 29 gold, 45 silver and 36 bronze, while Canada were third with 62 medals, 19 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze, India took the fourth position with 39 medals; 13 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze.
Generally, it was not a good show by Ghana, known as a sporting nation, even though some individual athletes did their personal bests, like swimmer Abeiku Jackson who broke a national record and para athlete Hayford Addai who went to the 100meters final and placed fifth at his first Commonwealth Games appearance.
Team general captain Joe Paul Amoah was in the 200 metres final but placed seventh, while the 4 x 100meters squad’s fourth place in their race missed the bronze medal by seconds.
Observations after the 2026 Commonwealth Games are that there were lapses in planning and preparations, with the concentration mostly on the Ghana House project and music by Dope Nation rather than the athletes’ preparations and the main purpose of the Games.
By Sammy Heywood Okine
