Frederick Lartey Otu (2nd R) presenting one of the items to members of the national team
The five athletes and two coaches’ inability to participate in the recently ended 25th World Championship in Manchester, UK, due to visa acquisition issues has prompted a meeting.
Present at the meeting were Frederick Lartey Otu (president), board members of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) and two other board members? Stephen Amegashie (technical director) and Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey (PRO)
Mr. Lartey Otu expressed his dissatisfaction in the turn of events on social media and explained that “I had to apply for my visa separately after returning from World Taekwondo Africa General Assembly because at that time the team had started their process already. I came in to support, but unfortunately things didn’t go as expected. I left with permission from the NSA and approval by board members. Some of you the athletes saw me here a number of times, going up and down, trying to get things done. At a point in time, I worked with your head coach and Selasi at GOC Office. How can I bring scouts from Italy to pick athletes to sponsor and then abandon the athletes?”
“My going which was necessary has also brought good things for us. Meeting with Daedo manufacturer for discussions on the usage of their products and discount offers; Generation 2 of the protective and scoring system for us; sponsors for our upcoming team championship in July and others. On this note, we want to encourage you to keep your commitment to training, and motivate yourselves as African Games approaches,” he added.
Eunice Adedapo, one of the five athletes who was supposed to compete in the Manchester Championship, apologised to the board on behalf of the team and appreciated the effort of the president in helping some of them pay for their visa processing fee.
From The Sports Desk