Two members of Ghana's contingent to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia did not return. 

The Ghana Badminton Association have confirmed Stella Amassah and Gifty Mensah disappeared from team Ghana’s camp and have still not been found.

This comes on the back of team captain Botsyo Nkegbe’s claims on the Joy Sports Link, Saturday, that he was sure that all the 72 athletes, who went for the Games, were accounted for and had left Australia for Ghana or wherever they came from. 

The two athletes were active in the Games and represented Ghana in the women’s mixed and team events.

Stella Amasah’s run in the competition ended on April 12 when she and Emmanuel Donkor lost to Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie in the mixed doubles round of 16 match.

Gifty Mensah, on the other hand, exited the competition on April when she and Grace Atipaka lost 2-0 to Sonia Cheah and Lai Shevon Jemie of Malaysia in the women’s doubles round of 32. However, they ran away a day after they were eliminated. 

The Badminton Association in a statement released on Monday and signed by President Yeboah Evans stated that it has notified the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Australian Border Police and the National security desk, INTERPOL, the Ghana High Commission in Australia and the Ghanaian community.

The athletes if found will be prosecuted under Australian law and extradited to Ghana for further prosecution.  

UPDATE: Joy Sports understands that the number of absconded athletes is five, although official confirmation has come for only two. Read here for details.

Ghana Badminton Participation at the Commonwealth Games 2018 [Statement]

Our gallant team of eight elite athletes participated in Badminton events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia which took place between Thursday 5 April and Sunday 15 April at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre.

Badminton is one of ten core sports at the Commonwealth Games and has been continuously held at the Games since its first appearance at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. Ghana’s participation became the 4th after our maiden Manchester Commonwealth Games participation in 2002.

Our badminton programme in 2018 included men's and women's singles competitions; men's, women's and mixed doubles competitions alongside a mixed team event throughout the 11 days of competition.

Ghana Badminton results at the multi-sport Games gave the best in the individual events in Africa, and the best Commonwealth Games performance since Ghana begun participation in the Multi-Sports Games.

Our itinerant Coaching programme paid off, despite some technical shortfalls which if we had begun the programme quite early with the necessary resources the team could have reached podium pedestal. Nonetheless, the standing ovation received by the 25,000 seated spectators each point in our matches was a rousing welcome for a better talent performance enhancement in the coming months for our dear sport.

Unfortunately, Stella Amassah and Gifty Mensah were declared missing a day after their competition. We had activated and adhered to the necessary protocols and procedures of such situations and the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Australia Border Force, The National Security desk, Interpol, The Ghana High Commission, the Ghanaian Community in Australia, the BWF and the Sporting regulators from Ghana have been duly informed and enforcement action under such acts have already begun. At the bearest, least when found, they will be prosecuted per Australian laws and then extradited to Ghana to face Ghanaian law in full force. As your leader, I am vile at this moment and the course of this depraved and uncouth attitude was completely unnecessary and the Association condemns this act. Internally, our next Board meeting we will bolster our actions on these characters of “dishonourable individuals ”.

We left Australia, with negotiations for a kit sponsor deal for our national team with the global firm who kitted 24 countries of the 72 country participants from 2019, a Malaysian Federation training programme for some of our elite athletes in the latter part of next year, and a further negotiations with the BWF that will enhance Ghana’s growth of the Sport.  

We will keep you apprised of this development and we welcome BWF Olympic qualifiers which have begun in earnest, the BAG Shuttle time Teachers course with its unprecedented registration across the country, the Coaching and Umpiring Course coming up, the SWAG Awards coming up on May 4th, and the first ever hosting of Ghana International on July 12-15th, 2018. We believe that development is central to the strategic intent we have set forth this year and we remain committed to the enhancement of our members in good standing.

Best sporting regard,

President, Badminton Association of Ghana

Yeboah Evans, CGMA

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The Games ended last week with Ghana winning a single medal – bronze - thanks to boxer Jessie Lartey.

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