Commonwealth Games: Boxer Wahid Omar named Ghana’s flagbearer
Ghana’s Chef de Mission for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Mohammed Sahnoon in a consultative meeting with the various heads of the participating disciplines has named Abdul Wahid Omar as Team Ghana’s flagbearer for the opening ceremony.
According to the CDM, Omar who is a member of the national boxing team, Black Bombers’ nomination was unanimously agreed by the members present at the meeting.
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He explained that, flagbearers are mostly given to an athlete who was outstanding in the contingent or performed well in the previous Commonwealth Games.
He said after careful deliberations between the leadership settled on Omar’s name since he had an enviable record in his boxing career especially after winning bronze in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games held in Scotland.
Wahid began his boxing career at the age of 14 at the Wisdom Boxing gym after following his brother Habib Ahmed to the gym.
He has participated in the All African Games (2011, 2015), Africa Championship (2005), Junior World Championship (2010), Rio Olympic qualifier and Rio Olympic Games (2016).
In a related development, para-athlete, Botso Nkegbe has also been named the General Captain of Team Ghana for the games.
His nomination comes with lots of experience and he is seen as the senior-most amongst the athletes. He began his sporting career as a wheelchair basketball player in the early 90s but switched to para-cycling in the late 90s.
He is a three-time Paralympian, three-time All African Games participant and Commonwealth Games, participant.
Captain of the national female hockey team, Nafisatu Umaru has also been nominated as the general female captain of the team. Although a first timer at the Commonwealth Games, her versatility, fluency, eloquence and bravery caught the eyes of the leadership of Team Ghana to do her that honour.
Nafisa, as she is called by her peers, has a total of 36caps for the national team after her initial call-up in 2011. She was captain during her days at the national U-17 and U-21.
She plies her trade with the female hockey team of the Ghana Police Service after beginning her career with Real Ambassadors and the female team of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Opening Ceremony for the Games would be held on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, at the Carrara Stadium.