Saudi Arabian NOC President HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal Al Saud was among those to meet ANOC general secretary Gunilla Lindberg ©ANOC

Gunilla Lindberg, the secretary general of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), has used the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as an opportunity to meet with several National Olympic Committees (NOCs) this week.

Last weekend saw her host Ismet Krasniqi, the newly elected President of the Kosovo Olympic Committee, at ANOC’s office for Tokyo 2020.

Krasniqi’s predecessor Besim Hasani had served as the Kosovo Olympic Committee’s President since 1996 but was beaten in his re-election bid back in March.

The meeting with Lindberg featured discussions about the role of ANOC and how it can support and collaborate with the Kosovo Olympic Committee.

Kosovo made its first Olympic Games appearance at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Majlinda Kelmendi won gold at Rio in judo in the women’s under-52 kilograms category, and Kosovo’s judoka have doubled that tally in the Japanese capital courtesy of Distria Krasniqi in the women’s under-48kg and Nora Gjakova in the women’s under-57kg.

Lindberg also welcomed South Sudan’s NOC on the same day (Saturday July 24), with the African country represented by President Eng. Juma Stephen Lugga Lemi and secretary general Tong Chor Malek Deran.

Their discussions centred on how ANOC could assist the NOC’s sports development plans in light of the challenges it faces.

South Sudan also featured for the first time at Rio 2016, where it sent three athletes.

It has sent two athletes to compete in the track in Tokyo and is still seeking its first Olympic medal.

Qatar's men's beach volleyball match against Switzerland offered an opportunity to meet the country's NOC ©Getty Images

A visit to the beach volleyball competition on Sunday (July 25) saw the Swedish ANOC secretary general take the chance to meet with the NOCs of Qatar and France.

Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan ensured Qatar got off to a winning start against Switzerland in the men’s beach volleyball preliminary round pool B, and Lindberg met with President HE Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al-Thani and secretary general Jassim Rashid Al-Buenain from the Qatar Olympic Committee.

Qatar claimed one silver medal in the men’s high jump at Rio 2016 but is still looking to get off the mark this summer.

After the event, Lindberg was received by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) secretary general Didier Seminet at their Hospitality House in the Japanese capital to explore future avenues for cooperation.

France is currently ninth in the medal table, with three golds included among their 11 medals.

Lindberg congratulated the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and its President HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal Al Saud on being made hosts for the 2034 Asian Games on Monday (July 26).

The progress of the Saudi team at Tokyo 2020 -- and sport in general in the country -- was also on the agenda, as well ANOC’s plans moving forward.

Saudi Arabia have not won an Olympic medal since London 2012.

By Patrick Burke 

Suleimanu Tetteh (ST), captain of the Black Bombers who recorded Ghana's first victory for Ghana at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the Round of 32 says he is ready to deliver and make history for himself and his family.

The Ghana Prisons Officer who face Yosvany Veitía of Cuba in the Round of 16 on Saturday wants all Ghanaians to have hope in him and pray for him to succeed.

“I will be the first Ghanaian to beat a Cuban at the amateur level, and I am very sure of myself” he expressed.

‘Golden Ring Warrior’ Samuel Takyi (ST) who was the first to the quarter-finals since 1988 also said he will prove that he is the best in the 57 kg category at the 2020 Olympic Games.

He noted that Colombia has not produced world champions like Azumah Nelson and Ike Quartey, and he will certainly win over his older opponent, Ceiber Avila.

Meanwhile Head Coach of Ghana's national boxing team, Dr. Akwasi Ofori Asare, has disclosed that getting a medal at this year's Olympics still remains their ultimate goal, despite the lose of light heavy Shakul Samed.

The Black Bombers suffered their first loss at this year's Olympics when Samed was knocked out in the second round by Turkish boxer Malkan Bayram in a light heavyweight contest.

Speaking in an interview after the setback, Coach Asare said Samed's loss was a painful one to Team Ghana, but they remain focused in making a mark at the Games.

“Samed wanted to win the bout but unfortunately took a punch and the referee didn't give him a chance for a comeback which is part of the rules of the game. We are not going to give up, we have two boxers still in contention, so we will work very hard to make a mark,'' he said.

Ahead of these bout, Coach Asare says they are hopeful of positive results and he is working towards winning a medal for Ghana.

He added the South American opponents are very uncompromising, but the Bombers will crack hard to gain the victory.

By Sammy Heywood Okine, Tokyo

Courtesy GOC Communications / Ashfoam / Twellium

Blessing Okagbare has been provisionally suspended and will miss the remainder of Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been provisionally suspended and will miss the remainder of Tokyo 2020 after testing positive for human growth hormone.

The world and Olympic medallist failed an out-of-competition test taken on July 19 and was due to compete in the women's 100 metres semi-finals here today.

She won her race in the heats yesterday but was informed of her suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) this morning.

The AIU had already banned 10 Nigerian athletes from Tokyo 2020 as they were not tested rigorously enough in the run-up to the Games.

After this was revealed, Okagbare hit out at sports governance in Nigeria, saying: "I have said it before and I will say it again.

"If you do not know the sport, not passionate about it/us [the athletes], then you have no business there as an administrator.

"The sport system in Nigeria is so flawed and we athletes are always at the receiving end of the damages."

Thirty-two-year-old Okagbare won Olympic silver in the long jump at Beijing 2008.

At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, she won long jump silver and 100m bronze, while she won the 100m/200m double at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Okagbare is a multi-time African champion.

Blessing Okagbare won her heat in the 100 metres at Tokyo 2020 yesterday ©Getty Images

"The Athletics Integrity Unit has provisionally suspended Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria today with immediate effect after a sample collected from the sprinter tested positive for human growth hormone," the AIU said.

"Growth hormone is a non-specified substance on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list and a provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics anti-doping rules.

"The AIU collected the sample from Ms. Okagbare during an out-of-competition test on 19 July.

"The WADA-accredited laboratory that analysed the sample notified the AIU of the adverse analytical finding at midday Central European Time yesterday, Friday 30 July.

"The athlete was notified of the adverse analytical finding and of her provisional suspension this morning in Tokyo.

"She was scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the women's 100m this evening.

"The AIU will make no further comment on this matter at this time."

By Dan Palmer

Ghanaian athletics star, Nadia Eke has decided to retire from the triple jump, after 15 years of jumping.

She confirmed to Yours Truly that Tokyo 2020 was her first and last.

The sports beauty queen, however chalked some successes like winning Silver at the 2014 African Championships, and Bronze in the 2015 African Games.

She won Gold at the 2016 African Championships, and participated in her first Olympic Games in Tokyo2020.

Nadia Eke made the headlines with her steps as Ghana’s flag bearer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

By Sammy Heywood Okine, Tokyo

Courtesy GOC Communications / Ashfoam / Twellium

Unilez Takyi Places 8th In 50 Meters Freestyle Heat 5

…Nadia Eke Fails In Triple Jump

Italy based 16 years old female swimmer, Unilez Takyi finished in the eighth position in the heat fifth heat of the women’s 50m freestyle race in 27.85sat the Olympic Games Aquatic Center in Tokyo.

In athletics, Ghanaian triple Jump participant, Nadia Eke could not make one good jump.

She was unsuccessful in all her three attempts.

The two events happened at the same time and Yours Truly was at the Aquatic Center to watch the swimming. I was not able to interview swimmer Unilez as she was not available.

Today, Saturday, July 31, 2021, Christian Amoah will do the 96kg weightlifting at the Tokyo International Forum, medal hopeful, Suleimanu Tetteh will also take on Cuban boxer at Kokukigan and in athletics, Benjamin Azamati  will be on the tracks for 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympic stadium.

By Sammy Heywood Okine, Tokyo

Courtesy GOC Communications / Ashfoam / Twellium

Nigeria are the reigning African and African Games champions in the women's 4x100m relay, but only two of the team selected for Tokyo 2020 have been cleared to run ©Getty Images

A group of 10 Nigerian athletes have been declared ineligible for the Olympics by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) because they were not tested rigorously enough in the run-up to Tokyo 2020.

A total of 20 athletes from the seven nations deemed most at-risk when it comes to doping have been ruled out of the Games.

The figure of 10 Nigerians represents more than 40 per cent of the track and field team the country had entered for the Olympics.

Three athletes from Ukraine, one Moroccan, one from Ethiopia and three from Belarus have also been struck off the entry lists.

Two Kenyan athletes were deemed non-eligible, but Athletics Kenya replaced them before submitting its final entries to World Athletics.

Bahrain is the final Category A country, but all 13 of its athletes have been cleared to compete.

Category A National Federations are deemed by the AIU to be the most susceptible to doping so must meet certain extra requirements to be able to select an athlete for the Olympic Games or World Championships.

In this instance the rejected athletes have all been excluded from the Hames on the basis of Rule 15 of the National Federation Anti-Doping Obligations.

Introduced in 2019, the regulations state that in the 10 months before the Olympics, any athlete from a Category A country needs to face at least three no-notice, out-of-competition doping tests, which must be conducted at least three weeks apart.

The 20 athletes deemed ineligible for Tokyo 2020 were not subjected to these testing standards.

Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan is among the Nigerian athletes cleared to compete at the Olympics ©Getty Images

Ese Brume, a bronze medallist in the women's long jump at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, and Blessing Okagbare - a long jump silver medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics who qualified for the 100 and 200 metres this time around, are not among the Nigerians ruled out.

The country's participation in the women's 4x100m and mixed 4x400m relays in is major jeopardy, with only two athletes now listed as entered for each race by the International Olympic Committee.

Nigeria was added to the Category A list in 2020, along with Morocco, while the other five nations predate them.

Despite the disqualifications, the AIU insists progress has been made by the Category A territories on the whole.

This includes in excess of 1,600 out-of-competition tests being conducted by domestically - and on top of AIU tests on athletes in the International Registered Testing Pool - in the seven countries since the start of 2021.

Increased testing resulted in six adverse findings, per the AIU.

"National Federations must play their part in supporting anti-doping efforts," said David Howman, chair of the AIU Board.

"The eligibility rules for athletes from 'Category A' countries are very clear and compliance is essential for cementing the required long-term changes and ensuring a level playing field for clean athletes.

"I must underline that there have been significant improvements in anti-doping efforts in most 'Category A' countries thanks to this rule.

"It is clear that the relevant National Federations in conjunction with their NADOs [National Anti-Doping Organisations] have started to take their testing responsibilities seriously, and I thank them for their efforts, but there remains a long way to go in some circumstances."

Track and field competition at Tokyo 2020 is due to begin on Friday (July 30).

By Ali Iveson 

 The International Fair Play Committee has called for nominations for Tokyo 2020 Fair Play Awards ©CIFP

The International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) has called for nominations for Tokyo 2020 Fair Play Awards.

The organisation, founded in 1963, seeks to promote the ideals of fair play.

It has presented awards at the Olympic Games to "courageous athletes who demonstrated the true meaning of being an Olympian".

The CIFP in now calling for fans to submit nominees from Tokyo 2020.

The organisation says moments of fair play should be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via its social media channels.

The International Olympic Committee has reportedly expressed its support for the Tokyo 2020 Fair Play Awards.

A total of 14 nominees were received for a Fair Play Award at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin, left, and the United States’ Abbey D’Agostino received the award at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

Individual prizes were awarded to American Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin.

The two athletes helped each other to finish the women’s 5,000 metres at the Games, after tripping.

The CIFP described their act as a "shared act of fair play, mutual respect, and inspiration to all athletes".

The Tokyo 2020 awards are expected to be presented virtually.

A jury will decided the winners from the submissions entered by the public.

By Michael Pavitt

MTN Ghana has launched the second edition of MTN Conquest, Ghana’s most competitive e-sports event, to award top players, promote e-sports and bring together the gaming community and industry stakeholders in Ghana.

Some of the genre of Games to be played during this year’s edition include Sports and Simulation with games namely FIFA 21 and Gran Turismo. The ultimate winners will take home a prize of Ghs30, 000.

Registration for the 2021 edition of MTN Conquest was opened from 13th to 17th of July, 2021 after which the qualifying series were played at partner game centers in Accra, Kumasi and Koforidua. 32 players for FIFA and 12 players for Gran Turismo will compete for the grand prize.

The Preliminaries and Round-of-16 games were played on Saturday, 24th of July, 2021 at the Esports Academy in Haatso, Accra. There were four of Ghana’s top female FIFA21 players who competed with their male counterparts. The Quarter-Finals to Grand Finale will be played on 31st of July, 2021 at the same venue.

Commenting on the 2021 edition of MTN Conquest, the Chief Marketing Officer for MTN Ghana, Mr. Noel Kojo- Ganson indicated that the digital era is changing the way sports is played and e-sports and video gaming have become the niche for persons who do not have the capabilities to engage in physical sports activities but would love to have fun, de-stress or for commercial gains.

He said, “As MTN works to ensure that everyone enjoys the benefits of a modern connected life, we believe that Games play an important role in the ecosystem of human development as it encourages interaction, learning and discipline. Even as we use digital tools to engage in business, educate ourselves and undertake financial intermediation, we need to also make time to play games have fun whilst enhancing our skills and lives. MTN Cconquest has been launched to keep our youth engaged in e-sports as an alternate means for entertainment and also earn some income”, he added.

MTN Conquest 2021 will be streamed on the social media handles of MTN Ghana. There are prizes for the audience who will follow, engage and watch the live streaming.

The maiden edition of MTN Conquest was held in Accra and Kumasi in 2019 with a pot prize of Ghs24,000, the biggest ever in the e-sports tournaments in Ghana. There were over 760 players who competed in FIFA19 and Mortal Kombat games with over 500 additional audiences at the venues. It was streamed for the Facebook and YouTube audience of MTN Ghana and Conquest.

Globally, Videos Games have become a daily lifestyle of many people of different demography. They spend a lot of time playing with their families and friends in friendly games and tournaments. This experience was pumped up during the peak of the COVID- 19 pandemic. According to industry reports, the video gaming industry is bigger than the movies, music and streaming industries combined, globally. An amount of $69.85 was spent on video games in Ghana as Ecommerce Spend by Category in 2020 according to Digital 2021 Ghana Report by WeAreSocial and HootSuite. It is a 40% growth from the previous year.

MTN Conquest is organized by PopOut in partnership with Esports Association of Ghana, Esports Academy and Invent.

Visit MTN Game+ http://game.mtn.com.gh to access trending action, racing, strategy, puzzle, arcade and sports games at your convenience.

Source: Amisty Nobo

Ghana’s Abeiku Jackson, today finished first in the Men's 100m Butterfly Heats 2 but could not progress to the semi final at the Tokyo 2020 olympic games.

His time of 53.39 seconds also broke his own national record of 53.53 seconds.

He is now ranked 45^th in the world in the event.

16 swimmers from a pack of 55 were selected for the next phase of the competition which saw Caleb Dressel of the USA leading the heat in a time of 50.35 secs. Sun Jiajun of china was the last best swimmer to qualify in 50. 74 seconds.

Abeiku was cheered on by some few Ghanaians who watched the event live at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the newly constructed facility in the Tatsumi-no-Mori Seaside Park and they were content which his achievement of a personal and national record.

16 years old Unilez Takyi will be the other Ghanaian swimmer to compete in the Women’s 50 meters Freestyle on Friday.

President of Ghana Swimming, Mrs. Delphina Quaye who watched the swimming events expressed her satisfaction with the performance of Jackson.

She prayed that the government of Ghana will one day build an aquatic facility to support kids who love love the sport.

Miss Farida Iddriss, an International Technical Officer (ITO) in swimming said the performance of Jackson has put Ghana on the world map of swimming.

Chef de Mission of Team Ghana, Mr. Mike Aggrey  noted that it is time Ghana gets serious with disciplines like swimming which some nations take advantage off to win more medals at the Olympic Games.

Abeiku Jackson joins boxer Shakul Samed and judoka Anani Kwadjo to honourably bow out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

By Sammy Heywood Okine, Tokyo

Courtesy GOC Communications / Ashfoam / Twellium

Mr. Emmanuel Olla Williams, CEO of Dreamland Sports Plus has congratulated the Black Bombers for lifting the flag of Ghana up high at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

He called for more support for national athletes, and wished the boxing team all the best, advising the remaining two boxers to keep up the winning spirit and go for the medals.

Olla Williams, a brother of former national football star, Olabode Williams who played for Accra Great Olympics, Sekondi Hassacas, Ebusua Dwarfs, Accra Hearts of Oak, Abiola Babies in Nigeria and the Ghana national teams, Black Meteors and Black Stars said representing the nation is a great achievement.

He called on the sports authorities to support fully in the preparation of national athletes to international assignments.

The youth coordinator of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) who supported the Black Bombers before they left for Japan promised to speak to some companies to prepare a package for Team Ghana after the Olympic Games.

He is currently involved in schools’ sanitation programme, educating students on personal and environmental hygiene

By Sammy Heywood Okine, Tokyo

Courtesy GOC Communications / Ashfoam / Twellium