The University of Ghana (UG) has lost its unprecedented and long-standing record as the reigning men’s goalball champions to the University of Education, Winneba (UEW). Since goalball became a competitive event in the Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) Games in 2016, UG had dominated the men’s goalball competition, making a powerful statement and establishing a fortress in university-level goalball.
However, the UG men’s goalball team was unable to replicate the success of their women’s team, who clinched gold the day before by defeating UEW. The men’s side fell short against the same opponents, with the final result going in favour of Winneba.
The final match, held at the S.K. Adjepong Lecture Theatre at the University of Cape Coast on Friday, January 10, saw UG take an early lead, going up by 2 goals. However, the Winneba-based team came back stronger, overtaking the premier university to lead 4-2 at halftime. UEW maintained their lead with an impressive second-half performance, finishing with a 12-4 victory after 24 minutes of play.
Speaking to UG’s goalball head coach, Benedict Sarpei Ntreh, about the result, he acknowledged his team’s efforts despite falling short of the gold. He also credited UEW’s centre player, Patrick Sam Godonu, for his dominant performance, which proved too difficult for UG to contain.
“I’ll say Bravo to my team. We have a saying: ‘BLNT’ – Better Luck Next Time. They did extremely well. In fact, we were aiming for the gold, but you cannot change what God has said that this will happen; you can never change it. Winneba, their centre player is very good; he blocked all the balls to the extent that our players got tired. I had to change the three sets to bring in another set. They also did their best. At least the ladies won gold, and the guys secured silver. Overall, UG has won the gold!,” he said.
As of Matchday 6 of the GUSA Games, Team UG has claimed three gold medals: in women’s tennis doubles, women’s goalball, and table tennis.
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Story by: Gabriel Tecco Mensah | univers.ug.edu.gh
