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.

As many as 200 coaches across the country will converge in Kumasi to undertake a special coaching course that will offer them the skills of unearthing and developing the potentials of people with intellectual disabilities.

The coaching course, dubbed unified coaching, being sponsored by the Board of Special Olympics Ghana   will take place at the Garden City Special School in Kumasi from tomorrow October 27, to Thursday October 29.

Ghana’s Under-20 female football team, Black Princesses, are back home with a 2-2 draw against Ethiopia in the first leg of their final round qualifier for next year's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (WWC).

The Princesses took the lead with an own goal from a Kate Adu direct shot from a cornerkick on the fourth minute, but the Ethiopians equalised and went ahead within 10 minutes with a brace from Loza Abera on the 15th and 22nd minutes, before Rafia Alhassan earned the Ghanaians a crucial away point with an intelligent low grounder.

Accra Hearts of Oak’s winding search for a new coach is ending on a rather surprise  note as the club is reportedly close to signing on a little-known US-trained Japanese trainer by name Kenichi Yatsuhashi.

A source close to Hearts confirmed to the Graphic Sports yesterday that the club’s Board of Director’s settled on the 46-year-old Coach Yatsuhashi at a meeting in Accra last Friday.

The Professional League Board (PLB) Awards Night will honour over 20 individuals, clubs and corporate bodies who excelled in the 2014/15 edition of the First Capital Plus Premier League on Friday at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.

They are, Footballer of the season: Kofi Owusu (Chelsea), Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars), Eric Opoku (Ashantigol); Defender of the Season: Lawrence Lartey (Ashantigold), Baba Mensah (Inter Allies), Ahmed Adams (Kotoko); Goalkeeper of the Season: Muntari Tagoe (Medeama), Richard Ofori (All Stars), Felix Annan (WAFA);

The national rugby team, the Black Eagles, beat their Togolese counterparts 17-0 in an international friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium last Saturday.

The game, which climaxed the 2015 Rugby Festival organised by the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), saw the Ghanaian team taking total control of the game, making it possible for them to win handsomely.

The national women’s cricket team will depart Accra on Thursday for Banjul, The Gambia, to compete in the North-West Africa female cricket competition.

The championship, in its first edition, will see four countries, namely Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Mali vying for the stakes.

The president of the Past Athletes Association of Ghana (PAAG), Andrew Agbo Kitcher, has outlined a detailed roadmap for athletics next year.
He said the programme, which will be implemented in tandem with the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA), is expected to make the sport more popular among the youth.