The Greater Accra Regional Taekwondo Association had to battle to clinch their treble of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship held at the Korea Sports complex on Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29, 2023.
Having won the maiden edition in 2019 with a total of 114 points (6 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals and 5 Bronze medals), the region defended their title in 2022 after two years of absence due to covid-19 with 12 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 4 bronze medals, totaling 94 points.
The likes of Michael Davidson (-80Kg), Lawrence Ofori Tweasam (-63Kg), Gerald Bernard Sarfo (-87Kg), Angel Elinam (-57Kg), Jemima Dende (-73Kg) and Marrainne Selassie Max-Voy (-67Kg) clinched gold for Greater Accra. Julian Aryee would have added to the gold medals, but lost in a tough final against Mohamed Cherif Moussa of Northern Region in the -68kg.
Kezia Gbedze also lost out to Halimatu Saadu of Northern region in the finals of the -49Kg.
Michael Davidson defeated Amed Sama in the final after wins against and was eventually adjudged the best male athlete.
Greater Accra came tops with 115 points; 6 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal, whereas Northern region finished 2nd with 4 gold medals, and 1 bronze medal, improving from the previous year position 10th with just 1 silver medal. Bono region (3 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal) and Volta region (1 gold medal, 3 silver medals and 5 bronze medals) were tied on 49 points each, placing 3rd and 4th. The two placed 2nd and 4th respectively, last year.
Eastern (5th with 36 points), Central, (6th with 27 points), Upper East (7th with 24 points), Western (8th with 19 points), Upper West (9th, with 13 points) and Ashanti Region (10th with 3 points) completed the regional ranking.
However, Erica Tuagbor from Central region was decorated with the best female athlete, after a great show in the -53kg, defeating Awuni Juliana Asechoma (Upper East) in the final.
This year’s event saw for the first-time, 3rd and 4th place bouts which will help the technical handlers properly pick athletes to further train and prepare for the upcoming 13th African Games.
Vice President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation, Charles Tsibo Cromwell called on the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, to scale up the annual championships.
“Mixed Martial Arts is rapidly becoming popular and attracting a lot of Taekwondo athletes. We therefore need to offer more in our competitions to keep Taekwondo popular and great. We need to consider offering greater prizes such as cash-prizes or electronic gadgets to make our competitions more attractive to the youth. It is no longer about only glory but also about material gains for the youth of today.”
“I would like to appeal to H. E. the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea and his team to consider scaling up the Korean Ambassador’s Cup. There is no doubt that the Embassy has greatly contributed to Taekwondo development over the years, there is still more to be done in a developing country like Ghana where sports authorities do not offer funding for what is now recognized as less-financed sports.” He emphasized.
In the Para division, Patricia Kyeremaa and Emmanuel Kofi Turkson emerged Best female and male athletes, as they won in their respectively weight categories (+65Kg and -70Kg, K44).
Kweku Sakyi-Addo is the Ghana Taekwondo Federation Advisory Board Chair and he called on Korean firms to invest in the development of Taekwondo.
“Taekwondo is a potential bridge between Ghana and Korea and there are many things that we can do together. I would like to encourage companies, especially Korean firms to support the growth of taekwondo in Ghana, as the embassy has for so many years been funding this championship. And there are many Korean companies in Tema who can support the development of the sport, in order to strengthen the bridge between the two countries.”
“Taekwondo offers you an avenue for recreation, for good health and discipline among both young and old people. I want to encourage you to continue to practice the sport and urge others to take it up as well” He added.
Other gold medal winners include Bono Region’s Ruth Avarade in the -62Kg, who retained her spot after flawing Sherifa Bernice Kingston-Eklu from the Volta Region in the finals.
Notable among the bouts was the spectacular -74Kg final between Northern Region’s Ibrahim Mamadou (gold medalist) and Eastern’s Loic Souma (silver medalist)
His Excellency, Lim Jung-Taek, the Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, assured all of their continuous support to development of Taekwondo in Ghana.
“I believe that highly qualified practitioners with good skills and potential to develop have been unearthed here and there will bring honor and prestige to Ghana in upcoming competitions. I am delighted to announce, the Korean government has presented Taekwondo uniforms and protective gears to you. It will be distributed to all the players and coaches who participated in the championships”
“I know this support will provide a momentum for the promotion of Taekwondo in Ghana as well as enhancing mutual understanding and bond of friendship between Korea and Ghana. I want to assure you, that the Korea Embassy in Ghana in collaboration with the GTF will make all necessary effort and provide active support to promote Taekwondo in Ghana.” He noted.
The 2-day championship was also attended by Lee Tae-Yeol, the President of the Korean Residents’ Association in Ghana, Grandmaster Kim Sun Tae of WAM Taekwondo Club, Captain Abban, former Taekwondo champion and instructor, Rev Samuel Annor, Chairman of the GTF Para Taekwondo Committee,
Others include Wisdom Tenuntaa, Chairman of Upper West Regional Taekwondo Association, ACP Jonathan Lamptey, Chairman of the Central Regional Taekwondo Association and ASP David Addotey, Vice Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Taekwondo Association.
The championship saw over 125 athletes from across the previous 10 regions of Ghana, competing in 8 male and 7 female senior categories and 1 each category for Para male and female. Greater Accra saw the highest, presenting 20 athletes, while Volta had 16 athletes. Ashanti came with 14 athletes, while Northen and Upper West presented 13 each. Western came with 12, whereas Eastern, Central, and Upper East had 10 athletes participating, with the least, 7 athletes, coming from Bono Region.
In all, there were 87 Senior male athletes and 30 Senior female athletes, with 4 each for male and female para-athletes.
Best Male Athlete, Michael Davidson from Greater Accra says he looks forward to attending more international championships.
“The feeling is great; I was so happy to be adjudged the best. It has been constant training and apparently, I was preparing for the Dakar grand prix challenge but due to lack of sponsorship, I could not go. I am focusing on more international championships to get better ranking for myself towards the Accra 2023 African Games”
She impressed the technical team and was adjudged Best Female Athlete. Erica Tuagbor was super elated and aims at joining the national team.
“I am overjoyed and do not know what to say. I used to train every evening but stopped for a while and started again when I heard about the championship. I told myself, since I have the faith and hope, I will make it and I did, although there was pressure. I really want to join the national team”
Patricia Kyeremaa has had a lot of exposure in the Para, having participated in the 2022 Grand Prix in Manchester and says she works hard at training, after lifting the Best female para cup.
“To be the best, you have to train. I was train hard by my coaches. I have really learnt how to kick. I have to keep training to ensure I always win against any opponent, because it is not easy outside Ghana.”
“I feel proud and happy for this achievement. I gave been determined and believed in myself that I can do it. We the Para need support to be competing in international championships, because it helps us in ranking. We are appealing to the government to come support us”
The Ghana Taekwondo Federation has a roadmap to selecting the Best to represent Ghana in the upcoming 13th African Games in Accra, while also strengthening regional Associations and clubs across Ghana.
Below is the list of Winners for all categories plus the detailed regional table:
13th KOREAN AMBASADOR’S CUP 2023
INDIVIDUAL MEDAL List
Seniors FEMALE
-49 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | HALIMATU SAADU | NORTHERN | GOLD |
| 2nd | KEZIA ELEMAWUSI GBEDZE | GREATER ACCRA | SILVER |
| 3rd | ANITA WIRROM | WESTERN | BRONZE |
– 53 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | ERICA TUAGBOR | CENTRAL | GOLD |
| 2nd | AWUNI JULIANA ASECHOMA | UPPER EAST | SILVER |
| 3rd | SANDRA OWUSU | EASTERN | BRONZE |
-57 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | ANGEL ELINAM | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | ALICE GANGA ANAKWA | CENTRAL | SILVER |
| 3rd | SINA HEIDECKER | VOLTA | BRONZE |
-62 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | RUTH AVARADE | BONO | GOLD |
| 2nd | SHERIFA BERNICE KINGSTON-EKLU | VOLTA | SILVER |
| 3rd | LAWRENCIA OWUSUAA | ASHANTI | BRONZE |
– 67 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | MARRAINNE SELASSIE MAX – VOY | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | TABUAA E. KORANG | BONO | SILVER |
| 3rd | MERCY ATI | VOLTA | BRONZE |
-73 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | JEMIMA A. DENDE | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | PAMELA GUMAH | EASTERN | SILVER |
| 3rd | DEBORAH AMANKWAH | WESTERN | BRONZE |
+73 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | PWOYE NANA BOISON | EASTERN | GOLD |
| 2nd | GRACE-EMMANUELLA NZAMBA | CENTRAL | SILVER |
| 3rd | PORTIA Y. M. OPPAN | WESTERN | BRONZE |
seniors MALE
-54 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | SADIR BUBACA | NORTHERN | GOLD |
| 2nd | ALEXANDER K. KUMI | VOLTA | SILVER |
| 3rd | KELVIN AMUZU | GREATER ACCRA | BRONZE |
– 58 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | SOUMAILA A. MALIK | UPPER WEST | GOLD |
| 2nd | MALIK HASSAN | UPPER EAST | SILVER |
| 3rd | MHAMMADOU SOULEYMANE | NORTHERN | BRONZE |
-63 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | LAWRENCE OFORI TWEASAM | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | FOSTER KUMEVI | UPPER EAST | SILVER |
| 3rd | EZEKIEL EGHAN | WESTERN REGION | BRONZE |
-68 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | MOHAMED CHERIF. I. K. MOUSSA | NORTHERN | GOLD |
| 2nd | JULIAN ARYEE | GREATER REGION | SILVER |
| 3rd | TAUFIC KONDOR | VOLTA | BRONZE |
-74 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | IBRAHIM MAMADOU | NORTHERN | GOLD |
| 2nd | LOIC SOUMA | EASTERN | SILVER |
| 3rd | ERIC VIGLO | VOLTA | BRONZE |
– 80 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | MICHAEL DAVIDSON | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | AMED SAMA | VOLTA | SILVER |
| 3rd | MUBARAK SOULEY | EASTERN | BRONZE |
-87 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | GERALD BENARD SARFO | GREATER ACCRA | GOLD |
| 2nd | GROOVE JOHNSON | WESTERN | SILVER |
| 3rd | ABDUL KARIM UNUSSA | UPPER EAST | BRONZE |
+87 KG
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | ALEX LARWEH | VOLTA | GOLD |
| 2nd | FRED OMARI | GREATER ACCRA | SILVER |
| 3rd | CLEMENT AKROFI BOATENG | EASTERN | BRONZE |
Seniors PARA FEMALE
+65 KG (K44)
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | PATRICIA KYEREMAA | BONO | GOLD |
| 2nd | ELIZABETH AKWAADA | GREATER ACCRA | SILVER |
| 3rd | ROSEMOND TWUMWAA | BONO | BRONZE |
Seniors PARA MALE
– 70 KG (K44)
| POSITION | NAME | REGION | MEDAL |
| 1st | EMMANUEL K. TURKSON | BONO | GOLD |
| 2nd | ADAMS ALHASSAN | GREATER ACCRA | SILVER |
| 3rd | HAMIDOU ISSA | VOLTA | BRONZE |
13th KOREAN AMBASSADOR’S CUP
REGIONAL MEDAL TABLE
| REGION | GOLD (13) | SILVER (7) | BRONZE (3) | TOTAL | POSITION |
| GREATER ACCRA | 6 | 5 | 1 | 116 | 1st |
| NORTHERN | 4 | 1 | 55 | 2nd | |
| BONO | 3 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 3rd |
| VOLTA | 1 | 3 | 5 | 49 | 4th |
| EASTERN | 1 | 2 | 3 9 | 36 | 5th |
| CENTRAL | 1 | 2 | 27 | 6th | |
| UPPER EAST | 3 | 1 | 24 | 7th | |
| WESTERN | 1 | 4 | 19 | 8th | |
| UPPER WEST | 1 | 13 | 9th | ||
| ASHANTI | 1 | 3 | 10th |
By: Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey
