2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games: Ghana name strong para team for medal push
Ghana will travel to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with a compact but ambitious five-athlete para squad, as the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) sets its sights firmly on podium finishes in Scotland.
The team — led by veteran wheelchair racer Raphael Botsyo Nkegbe — has been tasked with delivering medals at the Games scheduled for July 23 to August 2, 2026, under the NPC’s performance mantra: “Target the Podium.”
Unveiling the athletes at a ceremony in Accra, NPC Ghana and African Paralympic Committee President Samson Deen framed the selection as both a reward for merit and a statement of intent, insisting every athlete had earned their place on performance.
“I am pleased to say that every athlete on this team qualified through merit; they earned their place through hard work and performance,” Deen said.
Nkegbe, one of Africa’s most experienced para athletes and a three-time Paralympian, will spearhead Ghana’s challenge in the Men’s T54 wheelchair racing category. He brings leadership and pedigree to a squad built around both experience and emerging talent.
In para powerlifting, Tahiru Haruna arrives in Glasgow on the back of a breakthrough season, having won four medals at the 2026 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Algeria to establish himself as Africa’s top-ranked lifter. He will compete in the men’s 100kg+ division.
Ghana’s para athletics contingent also includes Zinabu Issah, who featured at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and will line up in the women’s F57 category, alongside 18-year-old prospect Hayford Addai, a Konongo SHS student set to compete in the T47 sprint classification.
Completing the squad is para swimmer Prosper Aheto, who will represent Ghana in the pool, rounding off a multi-discipline team carrying the country’s medal hopes across track, field, lifting and swimming events.
NPC leadership used the occasion not only to rally the athletes but also to sharpen the wider funding argument around para sport in Ghana, with Deen calling on the private sector to step in more aggressively.
A financial boost was also provided to support preparations, with each athlete receiving GH¢10,000 ahead of departure, while technical officials Emmanuel Anum Sowah and Sulemana Tahiru (both para athletics), Prince Nyarko (para powerlifting) and the para swimming coach each received GH¢5,000.
Deen urged the athletes to anchor their preparations in discipline and commitment, while positioning their success as critical to unlocking broader support.
“These athletes are more than competitors; they are role models, ambassadors, symbols of hope and represent millions of people who believe that no challenge is too great when determination meets opportunity,” he said.
