Badminton: Dan Sam for Olympics
Ghana's badminton prodigy, Daniel Sam, has been selected among a host of African players who would represent the continent at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
Sam is expected to join the African Olympic training camp in South Africa later this year after an official approval has been jointly provided by the Ghana Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Authority and the Badminton Association of Ghana and forwarded to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA).
Both the BWF and BCA believe awarding Daniel Sam the scholarship will ensure that his potential is fully exploited before the Olympics.
Sam paired with Solomon Nyarko to win bronze medal for Ghana in the All Africa Games in Maputo in 2011.
He also won gold in the men's singles at the Under-15 Africa Juniors in Egypt in 2008, as well as team bronze and individual silver at the Africa Under-19 Championship in Ethiopia in 2009.
Ghana's lone ranger at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Abraham Ayittey, managed to reach round three in the men's singles at the championship, where he was beaten by South African gold medallist, Jacob Maliekal.
The pair of Stella Amasah and Evelyn Botwe was eliminated in the women’s double at the first round by South Africa, while Stella's dream of progressing into the medal zone was quashed by Egyptian star, Nadine Ashraf in round three of the women's singles.
South Africa won gold in the teams’ event with Nigeria and Mauritius picking silver and bronze respectively.
Daniel Sam, who fell sick in the preliminary rounds of the championship, bounced back to winning ways when he defeated his Algerian opponent in the men's singles at the Mauritius International Badminton Series.
Meanwhile, Ghana begins the implementation of the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Schools project titled "Shuttle Time" in October, after the President and BCA Council Member, Mr Nestor Galley, concluded discussions with the BWF officials in Mauritius.
Story: Kwame Larweh
Graphic Sports/graphic.com.gh/Ghana
