The Ghana Karate-Do Association (GKA) last Saturday organised a programme designed to upgrade the performance of karate-kas selected from various clubs across the country

The exercise , held at the Media Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium saw the participants demonstrating their skills in various ways with the view of catching the eyes of the coaches examining them.

In all, a total of 30 athletes converged in Accra for the exercise , but only 16 who paid their participation fees to be examined were upgraded. Of the 16, three made it to 1st Dan, which was the lowest rank, with one of them qualifying to 2nd Dan, while three were upgraded to the 3rd Dan .

Four others who put up splendid performances succeeded in making it to the to 4th Dan ( Dan rankings are indicated by belt colour or stripes on the belt. The dan ranking system is also used to indicate the level of one’s ability within the sport).

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has been anonymously reported to police for drinking champagne on the pitch while celebrating Poland qualifying for Euro 2016.

The 27-year-old, arguably the best centre forward in Europe this season after scoring 15 goals in six games, was seen drinking from a celebratory bottle following his side's crucial 2-1 victory over Ireland at Warsaw's National Stadium.

The final group games of the Diwali Cup T20 Cricket tournament organised by the Indian Association of Ghana and the Ghana Cricket Association were played at the Achimota Cricket Oval last Sunday.

In the first game of Pool B, Bel Aqua who have already qualified to the semis took on Godrej Cricket Club. Batting first Godrej were restricted to 76 runs for nine wickets in their 20 overs thanks to a good spell of spin bowling by fast bowler Viveak who took four wickets for 18 runs.

The other day I was amazed at the funny design of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), in "smuggling" Accra Hearts of Oak into this year's "invitational tournament," which was hither-to described as the "G Six". After the GFA Appeals Committee's decision to uphold Kotoko's protest over the earlier Disciplinary Committee's ruling in favour of Hearts in the "unqualified player" saga, Hearts were thrown  to the bottom where they were placed at the 13th position of the 16-club First Capital Plus Premier League. What a season that was!

Former national team player and member of the Seniors Hockey Club, Peter Obeng, took an early lead in the Ashanti regional hockey goal king race when he scored twice to give his side a 3-2 win over Unique at the resumption of the league in Kumasi last Saturday.

Obeng, once a key player for CEPS in the Greater Accra Hockey League, had his goals cancelled by Acquah Stephen and Amoako Bonsie for Unique before Wallace Ababio scored the match winner for Seniors in an exciting game.

In a bid to motivate the national tennis team, the Golden Rackets, at the ongoing Davies Cup in Cairo, Egypt, Interplast Ghana Limited last Thursday donated US$10,000 to the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF).

The Arthur Wharton Foundation will launch the Arthur Wharton @ 150 birthday project at the residence of the British High Commissioner, Mr Jon Benjamin, at 5:30 p.m tomorrow.

The project is aimed at giving Ghanaians the privilege to know how helpful Arthur Wharton has been in promoting blacks in world football.

Wharton, who was the first recognised black man to play professional football, also has the record of being the first black sprinter.

Our job is to continue helping organisations like Football Unites, Racism Divides and the Arthur Wharton Foundation to educate the next generation about Arthur.

Nafiu Abubakar emerged the overall winner of the Inaugural Open of the Achimota Golf Club played over the weekend, beating his closest challenger Maxwell Osei Bonsu to second position of the men’s scratch competition.

Abubakar of the Obuasi Club, returned a gross score of 144 to finish ahead of Bonsu of the Royal Club of Kumasi who grossed 151, with Yao Dogbe of Achimota (152 gross) finishing third in the two-day event which brought together all who mattered in golf to officially commission the refurbished course and clubhouse.

Jessica Tei of Achimota club ensured the host club were represented on the honours list as she won the ladies competition, beating evergreen Mona Myles Lamptey of Tema Country Golf club and Felicia Okyei Gyeabour of the Royal Club to second and third positions respectively.

I have read of the purported origins of the Ghana Hockey Association in one Accra daily and feel the records must be straightened for the sake of the current generation and prosperity and also to be fair to those actually involved; at least, one of them is still alive.

In the said article titled “A National Icon”, the writer wrote: “Mrs Theodosia Okoh has earned her name not only as the designer or the national flag but also as a pioneer in the popularisation of hockey in the country. In early post independence Ghana, Mrs Okoh got herself in the popularization of the game by forming the Gold Coast Hockey Association and formed local teams which competed among themselves and teams from other countries......”

Jordan Ayew finally broke his goal drought in the English Premier League (EPL) last Saturday, but ironically it was his elder brother Andre Dede Ayew who stole the spotlight as Swansea defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at the Villa Park last Saturday.

The result left Jordan broken hearted as Villa sunk deep into the relegation zone and cost manager Tim sherwood his job the following day after six straight defeats.

His dreams of playing in the World Cup were crashed following an injury he sustained in Ghana’s final warm-up matches ahead of the 2014 mundial.

Until then Jerry Akaminko seemed to have formed a formidable partnership with John Boye at the rear of Ghana’s national team before the unfortunate incident curtailed achieving the lifetime dreams.

River Park Kumasi Cycling Club’s Abdul Razak Abdul Mumin last Saturday won the 2015 Cowbell Cycling League by finishing safely in the final stage criterium on the Mantse Agbonaa circuit.

Clement Kusi of River Park Sunyani won the third and final stage of the competitive three-day road race after 20 high-speed laps over an 80-kilometre distance. He beat his teammate Anthony Boakye and Ali Stephen to second and third, respectively.

However, it was the 25-year-old bicycle mechanic, Mumin— winner of stage two, —who hogged the spotlight by winning the red (Best Fighter), green (Best by Points) and coveted yellow (Best by Time) jerseys. He completed the three-day event in a time of seven hours, 20 minutes and one second, which included a superb ride on day two where he completed a five-minute break-away in the tortuous Accra-Mamfe-Accra stage.

His dreams of playing in the World Cup were crashed following an injury he sustained in Ghana’s final warm-up matches ahead of the 2014 mundial.

Until then Jerry Akaminko seemed to have formed a formidable partnership with John Boye at the rear of Ghana’s national team before the unfortunate incident curtailed achieving the lifetime dreams.

One of the great soccer administrators of our time, Mr Welbeck Yaw Abra-Appiah, has decided to call time on his illustrious 10-year reign as the chairman of the Premier League Board (PLB).

Mr Abra-Appiah took the difficult decision just before the curtain was drawn on the challenging 2014/2015 First Capital Premier League season, so he could have more time to serve his creator.

Abdul Razak Abdul Mumin of the River Park Kumasi Cycling Club last Saturday claimed the biggest win of his fledgling career by placing first in the 2015 Cowbell Cycling League.

The 25-year-old bicycle mechanic headed into the final stage of the three-day race - an 80-kilometre criterium at Mantse Agbonaa with a comfortable five minute lead and ended up winning in an overall time of seven hours, 20 minutes and one second.