A former President of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF), Mr George Lamptey, has returned from Kinshasa, Congo, where he featured in the just ended 2024 African Elite Men and Women Boxing Championship.
Mr Lamptey performed the role of an International Technical Officer (ITO) at the championship that saw Morocco retain the overall crown despite a strong challenge from DR Congo in the finals on Saturday.
It was a second successive feat for the Moroccans after grabbing 10 gold, eight silver, and three bronze medals, followed by the host nation, DR Congo, with nine gold, five silver, and seven bronze medals.
Kenya improved from their previous 17th position in the Yaoundé, Cameroon’s edition to third, as they won a gold, two silver, and five bronze medals and followed by Senegal in fourth with one gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.
Cameroon sealed the final place in the top five group with one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.
Missing at the boxing extravagansa was Ghana’s Black Bombers, a team previously considered very formidable as far as boxing at this level was concerned.
In their absence, Lamptey was Ghana’s lone ambassador at the championship, a situation he said came with mixed feelings.
Speaking to the Times Sports, he expressed a bit of sadness over Ghana’s inability to participate in the championship that would have helped in giving the boxers some amount of exposure and test their battle-readiness for much bigger championship.
However, he expressed excitement at the chance to get a feather in his cap as far as his burgeoning career as an International Technical Officer (ITO) was concerned.
“Despite the disappointment over the ‘no show’ from Ghana, my involvement as an ITO made me happy. At least when the roll call of countries present are made, the name of Ghana will be heard and her flag seen,” he told the Times Sports.
Mr Lamptey expressed gratitude to the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and his employers for the permission to perform at that level of boxing.
The work of an ITO involves the inspection and management of equipment for a championship, supervision of boxers equipment and also responsible for the daily weighing of boxers for a championship.
He advised the GBF to work harder to raise sponsorship to sponsor a team from Ghana in order to participate in the next edition.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
