The African Para Powerlifting Regional competition organised by the World Para Powerlifting ended remarkably at the Accra City Hotel on Monday with host nation, Ghana amassing seven gold medals.

Haruna Tahiru, Emmanuel Nii Tetteh, Patricia Nyamekye, Isaac Obeng, Akosua Nkansah, Juliana Ampofo and Frank Fudzi were the proud recipients for Ghana.

The country paraded a motivated and highly inspired team of 18 lifters who did well to prove that the nation has men and women who perform at the high stage in Para Powerlifting.

Samson Deen, President of the African Paralympic Committee, Ghana National Paralympic Committee and Ghana Para Powerlifting was very happy to see the international competition come to a successful end in Accra.

He commended and congratulated the para athletes who sacrificed a lot to train and perform.

He urged them not to give up, but aim high to reach their dreams and goals in sports.
He thanked the Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as the LOC for the first African Para Games and the media for their support in organising the event.

Other nationals who won gold were Kouadio Akissi Michelle, Bance Ousseny and Diamoutene Alidou of Ivory Coast, Victiribe Guissou and Oumarou N’Ziba of Byrkina Faso, Sankoh Rugiatu of Sierra Leone, Camara Aminatu of Guinea and Bawa Aliou of Togo,
The first-ever World Para Powerlifting organised competition in Ghana was interesting and the atmosphere at the Accra City Hotel was exciting and encouraging for the competitors.

The participating countries included Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia , Ghana , Guinea , Liberia , Madagascar , Mali, Mauritius, Nigeria , Senegal , Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Togo.

The LOC Chairman Accra 2023 African Para Games, President of the African Paralympic Committee, officials from World Para Powerlifting Organisation and officials of the National Sports Authority (NSA) were present.

There was also an exhibition para volleyball match at the Bukom Arena.

Credit: Sammy Heywood Okine