Ghana Shines At First African Muay Thai Championship In Morocco

Ghana was represented by six fighters from the Pro Fighting Factory Ghana at the first African Muay Thai Championship in Kenitri, Morocco from December 12 to 19, 2017.

Out of 17 African nations that participated, Ghana placed third with all the representatives reaching the medal zone.

Stephen Bruce won silver in the 57kg category, Daniel Boateng who was adjudged the best performer got bronze at the 54kg and Isaac Commey also got bronze at the 71kg weight class.

The others who all got bronze are Jonathan Euro at the 80kg, Ebenezer Adjei at 75kg and Francis Dodoo at 68kg.

Lawrence Nyanyo Nmai who led the Ghanaian contingent and sponsored their tour said the tournament was very insightful, affording them to know the current trends in Kickboxing which is now known as Muay Thai and the new developments in the sport.

Nmai who is a world champion based in Switzerland, as well as a known top trainer said the Ghanaians lacked some basic skills and could have got a gold.

He said handling the team single-handedly is not easy and appealed to the government of Ghana to invest in disciplines that can earn the nation medals and trophies.

According to Nmai, Ghana has been accredited and affiliated to Africa and World Muay Thai Federations, and in a few days, they are going to formalize their registration as they inform the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).

Isaac Doku who was one of the technical men in Morocco said Ghana has the potential and wished the government had supported them as other countries were represented by ten or more fighters. He noted that the cold weather affected them a bit, but that is not a major excuse.

Nii Adotey Dzata l, President of the Ghana Kickboxing Association told Yours Truly, he supports the Muay Thai as it has provisional status to become an Olympic sport, and urged all lovers of the sport to contribute to its promotion and development.

He commended Lawrence Nmai and the Pro Fighters Factory Ghana team for putting Ghana on the map of African Muay Thai.

The countries that participated are Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Gabon, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia, Mauritius, Cameroun and Madagascar. Others are Ghana, Libya, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire.