The Ghana duo of Joseph Commey and Abdul Wahid Omar have secured two medals for the nation at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
On Wednesday, featherweight Commey won a unanimous 5-0 victory over New Zealand’s Alex Makuka to advance to the semifinals while Omar did the same by defeating Alston Ryan of Antigua & Barbuda 4-1 in the light welterweight division.
The 18-year-old Commey (pictured), a product of Black Panthers Boxing Gym in Accra, used his boxing skill and distance to dominate Makuka throughout the three rounds to reach the medal zone.
He told BoxingAfrica.com that he is on course to win a gold medal at the Games.
“This is what we have been fighting for since we opened training camp back in Ghana and I’m glad we have been secured a medal,” Commey said.
“But it doesn’t stop us from chasing the gold that we came for. I have to go back to my trainer so we can work harder to secure our target.”
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Omar ensured his second medal at the Games following a bronze medal feat in the 2014 edition in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Wisdom Boxing Club fighter, who missed out on a medal in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, believes the time is ripe for him to win the nation’s first gold in 24 years.
“I have worked hard to reach here and I believe the time is now for me to win gold for the country,” said Omar. “It is not going to be easy but I am confident I can win the ultimate and I’m going to give my all to win it.”
With two medals bagged, Black Bombers trainer Kwasi Ofori Asare is hopeful of landing three medals for Ghana in boxing by the end of the games.
He explained that the target was to improve on Team Ghana’s performance in the last Games where Jessie Lartey won bronze in boxing.
“Commey and Omar have paved the way for the athletes to follow and I am very happy that we have at least secured two medals in boxing for now.
“We are looking forward to winning at least one more medal to make it three for Team Ghana,” Asare told BoxingAfrica.com.
