Hockey: Golden Sticks for Australia Monday
After four weeks residential camping, the national women’s hockey team, Golden Sticks, will leave for Gold Coast, Australia, on Monday to engage in some international friendlies as part of their preparations for their maiden Commonwealth Games participation.
The players, technical staff and other officials will depart in batches on March 12 and 13 after the final list of 18-member team have been selected.
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So far, all the 21 players in camp are responding positively to training and are in good shape ahead of the announcement of the final squad.
The players who are in camp are Bridget Azumah, Mavis Ampem Darko, Abigail Boye, Nafisatu Umaru, Benedicta Adjei, Janet Adampa, Adizatu Sulemana and Emelia Fosuaa. Others include Mavis Berko, Cecilia Amoako, Serwa Boakye, Ernestine Coffie, Lydia Afriyie, Roberta Owusu Sarfo and Deborah Whyte, Vivian Narkuor, Martha Sarfo, Elizabeth Opoku, Juwaila Acquah, Fridaws Addison and Esther Asroagbo.
At the group stage of the games, the Golden Sticks will play against New Zealand, hosts Australia, Scotland and Canada between April 6-11.
The Ghanaians qualified for the April 4 - 15 games after placing 10th among the best hockey teams in the Commonwealth.
It will be the first time Ghana will be participating in the hockey competition of the Commonwealth Games, an elite platform the Golden Sticks are eager to exploit and announce their arrival on the big stage.
Briefing Graphic Sports about the arrangements, Nashiru Yakubu, General Secretary of the Ghana Hockey Association (GHA), Nashiru Yakubu said it was the Australian Embassy in Ghana played an instrumental role with the host federation to the friendly matches for the team.
He disclosed that the Golden Sticks would first play against Wales before engaging selected teams from Australia in their final tune-up ahead of the competition.
