Accra, Ghana: The leadership of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation has engaged the High Commissioner of India to Ghana, H.E. Surinder Bhagat, to discuss opportunities for collaboration in sports development.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to brief the Indian diplomatic mission on Ghana's participation in the 47th World Armwrestling Championship in New Delhi and explore the future inclusion of armwrestling in the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

The Ghanaian delegation briefed the High Commissioner on the growing profile of Ghana armwrestling and preparations by the Golden Arms of Ghana for the World Championship in India later this year.

The GAF delegation highlighted India's role as host of the World Championship and expressed the Federation's desire to use the championship as a platform to strengthen Ghana-India sporting relations while creating opportunities for technical, institutional and athlete development cooperation.

President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation and Africa Armwrestling Federation, Charles Osei Asibey, said Ghana's participation in the World Championship presented an opportunity to deepen relations between the two countries through sport.

“India, aside from hosting the World Championship, is providing a global platform for athletes from across the world to compete, connect and learn. We want Ghana's participation to be the beginning of a stronger Ghana-India partnership in armwrestling and sports development,” President Asibey said.

The meeting also discussed the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the campaign to have armwrestling included in the programme.

The Ghanaian side emphasised that its inclusion would create a pathway for more African and Commonwealth athletes to compete at the highest level while expanding opportunities for the sport globally.

High Commissioner Surinder Bhagat expressed the Indian High Commission's willingness to support the initiative, including facilitating links between Ghana Armwrestling and the Indian business community in Ghana to explore sponsorship and support for armwrestling events and development programmes.

“We will look at how the Indian High Commission can help connect the Ghana Armwrestling Federation with the Indian business community here in Ghana, so that they can understand the opportunities within the sport and explore ways of supporting armwrestling events and its development. We are also prepared to engage the relevant authorities in India on the proposal for armwrestling's possible inclusion in the 2030 Commonwealth Games,” Ambassador Bhagat said.

The delegation further explored areas of collaborative sports development, including athlete and coaching exchanges, training camps, technical expertise, competitions, sports science and the sharing of best practices between Ghana and India.

The Ghana Armwrestling Federation also expressed interest in developing stronger links with India's private sector in areas such as sponsorship, sports equipment, event management, sports tourism and investment in athlete development.

Osei Asibey said the proposed partnership should go beyond competition and create sustainable opportunities for athletes and the wider sporting ecosystem.

“Our vision is to use armwrestling as a bridge between Ghana and India. We want to collaborate in athlete development, coaching, sports business, tourism and technical knowledge, while creating opportunities for our young people. The 47th World Championship and the 2030 Commonwealth Games provide important platforms to advance that relationship,” he added.

The engagement forms part of Ghana Armwrestling's broader international strategy of building partnerships with countries that can contribute to the development of the sport through knowledge exchange, investment, technical cooperation and sports diplomacy.

The GAF delegation expressed confidence that stronger Ghana-India cooperation could support the Golden Arms' World Championship campaign, advance efforts towards the inclusion of armwrestling in the 2030 Commonwealth Games and contribute to the long-term development of the sport in Ghana, India and the wider Commonwealth sporting community.