After nine days of competition and countless upsets, Ghana has finally won a medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
The medal was won by a member of the national amateur boxing team (Black Bombers), Jessie Lartey.
Lartey himself would personally be disappointed by what some analysts have described as a controversial loss given that he was already assured of a bronze medal heading into the 64-kilogramme welterweight division clash against Canadian Thomas Blumenfeld at the Oxenford Studios.
Lartey lost all five rounds on the judges scorecards – 30-27, 29-28; 30-27, 30-21,30-27.
The result tied him in third place with England’s Luke McCormack who lost to Namibian Jonas Jonas in the other semi-final bout.
With the Commonwealth Games set to end on April 15, Lartey’s bronze medal win has equalled Ghana’s medal haul at the Glasgow Games in 2014.
In comparison, West African neighbours Nigeria is the highest placed West African team in 10th place having amassed 16 medals, comprising six gold, five silver and five bronze.
Meanwhile, Ghana is tied in 33rd place alongside Cameroon, Cook Islands, Dominica, Malta, Norfolk Island and the Solomon Islands.
South Africa is the highest ranked African team with a total of 34 medals – 12 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze followed by Nigeria, Uganda (two gold and two bronze) and Kenya (one gold, three silver and four bronze).
