3 Sports icons lecture Accra Aca students
The Olympic Movement in Ghana received a boost last Thursday when students of Accra Academy Senior High School were mentored by three national sports icons about the importance of representing your nation at international sports competitions.
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The two-hour seminar organised by Ghana-based sports website, Liquid Sports, was themed "Making it Happen" and saw three national athletes, comprising former Black Stars goalkeeper, Ali Jaraa, taekwondo player, Terrence Tetteh Asare, and 2015 All Africa Games paralympic double silver medalist, Patrick Yaw Obeng, sharing first hand tales of sacrifice, hard work and determination with about 300 students.
First to mount the stage was Asare who had the honour of competing at the 2013 World Championships in Mexico, 2013 US Open Championships, 2011 All Africa Games and the 2015 All Africa Games in Congo, Brazzaville.
The taekwondo player who graduated with Bachelor of Arts honours at the University of Ghana, Legon and is also an IPMC Certified Systems Engineer told the gathering that he was living testimony that education and high-level sports could be combined with excellent results in both sectors.
He told the students that his ability to manage his team adequately between sports and education had contributed to his being a national athlete, as well as having a corporate career, having worked with organisations such as MTN, TXT Ghana and currently Renaissance Capital Micro-Finance where he is the General Manager.
Next to address the students was Ghanaian wheelchair racing specialist, Obeng, who shared an inspiring life story about his para-sports career which began five years after his left leg got amputated at age 17, following an accident in Togo.
He told the students that although his amputation truncated his education after being bed-ridden for five years at a hospital, following seven surgeries.
The veteran wheelchair racer said he was determined to make something out of his life and was therefore delighted when he discovered the sport of wheelchair racing which has become a source of income and made him a multi-award winning national sports icon.
Finally, ex-national goalie, Jaraa, advised students with sports talents to take their studies seriously because most active sports careers were very short, while education was one of the ways to prolong one’s involvement is sports.
He told the students that though his playing career ended at age 17 due to paralysis, his role in the national U-17 team helped him to set up a goalkeeping academy which has trained over 360 goalies free of charge, including national stars Fatau Dauda and Patricia Mantey.
There were also presentations by the Head of the University of Ghana Sports Directorate, Dr Bella Bello Bitugu, who spoke about academic opportunities for athletes at the university, as well as the Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, HE Irene Vida Gala, and the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy, Dr Yoshihiko Higuchi, who spoke about the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games respectively.