Bissah: I’m waiting for GAA ban to be lifted

Ghana's only Olympic gold medallist, Martha Bissah, has urged the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, to back his words with action and get the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) to lift the ban placed on her four years ago.

According to her, that was the only way authorities could show that they were interested in her competing for Ghana.

"I am waiting for the minister to lift the ban placed on me by the GAA. That is what he said when he was appointed, so I can only wait before I make any decisions on my relationship with the national team," the 21-year-old 800 metres junior Olympics champion told the Daily Graphic in an exclusive telephone conversation from her base in the United States last Saturday.

Just after the 2015 All Africa Games, Bissah was placed on ice by the GAA for insubordination and indiscipline, a claim she has rejected and labelled it as victimisation for bringing the ills within the GAA to the fore.

Explaining the rationale behind a recent interview to an Accra based FM station during which she stated that she did not care about the country, Martha confirmed to this paper that Ghana had cared little about her, hence the need for the minister to back his words with action and lift the ban placed on her.

"This country has cared little about me. Nobody asks about my whereabouts or how I am surviving.

I am, therefore, waiting for the minister to lift the ban and the government to show me some care," the 2018 Norfolk State University (NSU) Female Athlete of Year told this paper.

She called for sanity to prevail in athletics to arrest the dwindling fortunes of the sport.