|
|
Jamaican star wrestler is from Ghana
|
|
TO millions of US wrestling fans, Kofi Kingston is the first Jamaican wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). But his real identity is very different, because to his family and friends, he is Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah from Ghana.
Most wrestling fans have never heard of the West African country, so the wrestling body decided fight fans would be more likely to embrace a wrestler from the land of Bob Marley and reggae music. And so desperate is Sarkodie-Mensah to become wrestling’s next superstar, he is willing to deny who he is. “I was actually born in Jamaica, to be honest with a name like Kofi a lot of people assume I was born in Ghana,” he says with a bad Jamaican accent, but doing his best to stay in character.
But though he denies it, his mother Elizabeth, the head of a Ghanaian- American organisation in the US, confirms that he was indeed born in Ghana, and not in Jamaica. The family only moved to the US in 1982. “I told him: ‘Kofi, your cousins watch you on TV in Ghana and want to know why you don’t say you’re from Ghana,’” she says. “He said: ‘Tell them it is business.’” It certainly is business.
After he discovered his mother had revealed his secret identity to the press, Sarkodie-Mensah banned her and the rest of his family from speaking to the media, for fear of compromising his career. “She’s very happy I am doing what I want to do,” he says of his mother.
“But I don’t think she knows how big wrestling really is.” Spinning people around by their necks and slamming their heads into the ground is not how Sarkodie-Mensah, who is the only African in big-time wrestling in the United States, thought he would earn his living. A member of a family of intellectuals from near Kumasi in Ghana, he was expected to become a revered teacher like his grandfather.
But he first went into the corporate world, and almost immediately regretted it. “My first day at work I sat in my cubicle and looked at the empty walls and it was very depressing,” he recalls. The 26-year-old soon decided to swap his business suit for bright yellow wrestler’s trunks. “The first day I walked into the wrestling school, I knew I was in the right place,” he says. So far, Sarkodie-Mensah has made all the right moves.
Since his debut in January, he has “won” all but one of his 100 matches on the Extreme Championship Wrestling circuit, an offshoot of WWE which launched the careers of the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Rock. WWE is convinced Sarkodie-Mensah has what it takes to make it to the top in the scripted world of US professional wrestling, dismissed by some as more soap opera than sport. But although professional wrestling has its detractors, Sarkodie-Mensah’s father, Kwasi, is not one of them. Mr Sarkodie-Mensah, a lecturer at Boston College in the US, says though many of his friends in Ghana were disappointed that his son became a wrestler rather than an academic like his parents, he is happy his son has found contentment in his career. “I know it is a very anti-intellectual thing, but I think everybody should get up in the morning and be excited about what they do,” he says. But Mr Sarkodie-Mensah’s friends in Ghanaian academia, like Raymond Osei- Boadu of the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, are horrified. “I cannot bring myself to understand,” says a disconsolate Mr Osei-Boadu. “Why would a person who is very capable of going to graduate school decide to jettison all that for concussion in the face?” |
|
Legless South African sprinter eligible for Olympics |
 |
A South African double amputee has been cleared to run in the Beijing Olympics with prosthetic legs which could propel him to victory.
Oscar Pistorius, who was born without bones in his lower legs, said: “It’s a great day for sport. I think this day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people.” His request to participate had been turned down by International Association of Athletics Federations, but this was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May (with the help of 11 lawyers).
The Association feared that his high-tech “Cheetah blades” would give him an unfair advantage in his events, the 400-metre or the 1600 metre relay. Pistorius may not make the team, but he is certainly a contender: his best time is just over a second slower than the qualifying time for the South African 400-metre event. It is hard to know what to make of this. Some saluted the admirable courage and optimism of Pistorius, but others had misgivings.
It is clearly a landmark decision which will affect the future of sport. Artificial enhancement of athletic prowess; mechanical, pharmacological, or genetic, is emerging as a major issue. If a runner can use artificial legs, what other aids will become acceptable? Bioethicist Arthur Caplan felt that new technology could destroy the sport. “It may be fascinating to see who can go the fastest on rocket-powered legs or throw a heavy weight the farthest using performanceenhancing drugs, or genetically engineered muscles.
But what you have then is an exhibition or a show, not a sport. To be a sport you need something approximating a fair playing field, some boundaries on the attributes of those who compete so they are comparable to one another and some ability to compare today’s performance with those in the not-sodistant past.” But others argue that technological progress is inevitable and should not be stopped. What’s certain is that we have not heard the last word on enhanced sportsmen. |
|
Cameroon stay top in Africa |
Cameroon are still the top-ranked side in Africa according to the latest list issued by football’s world governing body, Fifa.
THE Indomitable Lions are still ranked at 13 in the world, with new European Champions Spain the new number one nation. Ghana remain the second best side in Africa but drop four places to number 20 in the world. There were some big African movers on the global rankings after a month of 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Swaziland lept 38 places overall and Cape Verde are up from 109th to 85th. But the biggest movers are Burkina Faso, their 100% record in the 2010 qualifiers so far has taken them from 111th in the world to 64th - a move of 47 places. Fifa’s ranking system takes into account current performance, with previous results gradually reducing in importance. |
|
Olympic football draw |
THE draws have been made for the men’s and women’s football tournaments at the Olympic Games in August. Sixteen teams are split into four groups of four in the men’s draw and the top two from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. In the women’s competition, there are three groups of four.
The top two teams in each pool and the top two third-placed teams will progress to the knockout rounds. In the men’s draw Ivory Coast is in group A alongside Serbia, Argentina and Australia. Group B has Nigeria, Netherlands, USA and Japan. Cameroun, the third African representative, is drawn in group D with South Korea, Italy and Hunduras. in the women’s draw, Nigeria, the only African team in the female category, is drawn in group B alongside Brazil, Germany and North Korea. |
|
Okocha retires with a testimonial match |
 |
OVER 20,000 fans paid tribute to former Super Eagles captain Jay-Jay Okocha on June 26 at a testimonial game. Okocha, who twice won the BBC African Footballer of the Year award, retired after 18 years in football.
Despite torrential rainfall a big crowd witnessed a star-studded game that saw a Super Eagles XI beat a World XI 2-1. Stars including Nwankwo Kanu, Joseph Yobo, El-Hadji Diouf and Benjani Mwaruwari all played in the game at the Warri Township stadium in Delta State, Nigeria. The 34- year-old Okocha played for both sides during the match and scored for the Super Eagles XI, which also included Taribo West and John Utaka. Portsmouth’s Kanu scored the opening goal of the game in the fifth minute as he beat Alloy Agu, the former Standard Liege goalkeeper.
Former Everton striker Daniel Amokachi made it 1-1 for the World XI to send the fans into raptures. Okocha himself then stepped up the tempo of the game in the dying seconds to score the winner as the Super Eagles won the game 2-1. “It’s a day of joy considering the achievements and adoration in my football career but also one of sadness as I am leaving a game that brought me fame and fortune,” an emotional Okocha said after the match. “I thank the clubs and fans where I have played as well as team-mates and of course the Nigerian public for their love and support throughout my career.
” The World XI, managed by Austin Eguavoen included Celestine Babayaro, Yousuf Fofana, John Fashanu, Lucas Radebe, Mohammed Kallon, Victor Ikpeba, Carlton Cole and Abdoulaye Traore. Former Nigerian captain Okocha announced his retirement from international football after the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt February 2006. Current Super Eagles coach, Shaibu Amodu, who coached Okocha at the 2002 Nations Cup in Mali, was full of praise for the talented midfielder. “Okocha is a model professional on the pitch, on the training field and off the pitch,” Amodu said.
“The national team have missed him as he has such a huge influence in big games. The fact that the stadium is packed is a total reflection of how much he is loved in the country.” Former Bafana Bafana and Leeds United captain Radebe revealed that he had to leave his sick wife behind in South Africa to honour Okocha. “I pleaded seriously with my wife to let me be here. Okocha was a recognised maestro in African football and the continent will surely miss him,” he said. Other players, who turned out in support of the Nigerian were Garba Lawal, Julius Aghahowa, Taye Taiwo, Obinna Nsofor, Obinna Nwaneri, Danny Shittu, Vincent Enyeama, Osaze Odemwingie, Kalu Uche and Wilson Oruma. After footing the bills for the testimonial, the Delta State government in south-western Nigeria have also renamed
|
|
Big sister wins again at Wimbledon |
 |
VENUS WILLIAMS outhit younger sister Serena to claim her fifth Wimbledon crown in exhilarating fashion. The defending champion recovered from a whirlwind start by her younger sister to land her seventh Grand Slam title courtesy of a 7-5 6-4 win.
Venus paid tribute to the performance of Serena, who had looked as if she might blast her big sister off court in the opening games. “I can’t believe it is five because when you are in the final against Serena Williams five seems so far away,” said the champion. “It’s unbelievable especially with some of the injuries I have gone through. I love this place.
The quality of the meeting dispelled any suggestion that the two siblings were incapable or unwilling to produce their best tennis against each other. But Venus admitted she never found it easy to take on Serena, who comfortably won their previous Wimbledon finals, in 2002 and 2003. “My first job is a big sister and I take that very seriously,” she said. “It is hard for all of my family, although I like to think they want me to win."
” Serena, who had won five of her previous six Grand Slam finals against her sister, admitted things had not gone as she expected. “She was a little better today, but it didn’t work out as planned,” she said. “But I’m so happy that at least one of us could win. We were glad to be in the final.” Later, the sisters were united in victory when they clinched their third women’s doubles title with a 6-2 6-2 win over American Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur of Australia. The lacklustre nature of some of the sisters’ previous meetings had led some to voice fears that Saturday’s singles final would be another contest lacking in the intensity both women bring to bear on other rivals.
|
|
Ivory Coast and Cameroun inHong Kong’s pre-olympic tournament |
 |
THE Ivory Coast and Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou could be one of the big names at a pre-Olympic football tournament in Hong Kong. Other top names include America’s Ghanaborn teenager Freddy Adu as well as Liverpool and Holland midfielder Ryan Babel. Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Holland and the USA will all take part in the ING Cup from 30 July until 2 August as their final preparation for the Beijing Olympics, which begin five days later.
“Olympic fever is truly kicking in, so we expect great crowds at the Hong Kong Stadium on both days,” said Hong Kong Football Association chairman Brian Leung. “The Netherlands, Cameroon, USA and Ivory Coast will be among the strongest teams in China and feature many world-class players.” The Dutch are one of the favourites for the Olympic crown, having won back-toback Uefa Under-21 Championship titles in 2006 and 2007. Cameroon have a strong pedigree in the Olympics, having won gold at Sydney 2000.
This year’s squad includes 20-year-old Alex Song, one of Arsene Wenger’s exciting young talents at Arsenal and the nephew of Rigobert Song, Cameroon’s most capped player. Defender Andre Bikey, whose impressive performances for English club Reading led to his inclusion in the senior squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, is also included. One player who could prove to be a star of the Olympics is 19-yearold American Adu, who joined Portuguese club Benfica last August.
Nigeria are Africa’s other representatives in the men’s tournament at the Beijing Olympics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
