Gold Medalist Mohammed Aryeetey Reveals Struggle to Join Ghana’s Boxing Team for African Games

Mohammed Aryeetey, the gold medalist at the 2023 African Games, has disclosed the challenges he faced in securing a spot on Ghana’s boxing team for the competition. Aryeetey admitted that he had to “plead” with the Ghana Boxing Federation to include him in the team after finding out there was no slot allocated for him.

Despite the initial setback, Aryeetey managed to earn one of Ghana’s four gold medals in boxing by defeating Tulembekwa Zola Livens at the Boxing Arena in the Trust Sports Emporium, Bukom. The former national Flyweight champion emerged victorious in the final through a unanimous decision.

Speaking on Prime Morning, Aryeetey, based in James Town, recounted his efforts to join the team amidst internal politics, stating, “It came to a time that I had to plead to join the team [for the African Games], which was not supposed to be.” He further explained his commitment to dropping to a lower weight category to secure his place, utilizing the Cape Coast training camp to optimize his performance.

Looking ahead, Aryeetey expressed his desire to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers scheduled to take place in Thailand next month, emphasizing his readiness to seize the opportunity.