Badminton Association ready for J.E Wilson International tourney

President of the Ghana Badminton Association (GBA) Evans Yeboah, has indicated his outfit’s readiness to host the rest of the world at the J.E Wilson International tournament, commencing in Accra today.

The four-day tournament, to be hosted at the Trust Sports Emporium, will assemble athletes from 27 countries including Australia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Cameroon, Czech Republic, Egypt, Vietnam, Switzerland, Poland, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Poland among other countries.

It is one in a series of qualifiers geared towards accumulating points for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo and Mr Yeboah is hopeful Ghana will capitalise on the home advantage to excel at the event.

Speaking at the launch of the global qualifiers yesterday at the press centre of the Accra Sports Stadium, he intimated that the 22-man Ghana team comprising 13 men and nine females was ready to compete in order to build the needed points required to make the 32-team shortlist for the Olympics in Tokyo, next year.

“The target for the team is to get six athletes to the quarter final stage and three as semi-finalists.”

Notwithstanding the target, the president stated the tournament provided a great learning platform and exposure to the Ghanaian side with another eye on building the side comprising of promising and experienced athletes for the African Games in Ghana, in 2023.

He called on sports lovers to troop to the venue today for the opening ceremony which is free for all.

Deputy Technical Advisor at the National Sports Authority (NSA) Abedu Wilson, who performed the official launch, described the late J.E. Wilson as an iconic figure in badminton circles who must be celebrated – adding that the sport holds a great promise for the country and must therefore be patronised.