Taekwandoga blasts Taekwondo Association for leaving him out of Olympics qualifiers
A veteran taekwondoga, Charles Alex Cromwell, has criticised the leadership of the Ghana Taekwondo Association(GTA) for what he describes as bias in its selection of athletes to compete at the ongoing Olympics qualifiers in Agadir, Morocco.
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He claimed he was the best qualified to be part of the team that went to Morocco, arguing that he was the fifth best on the continent and the 60th in the world ranking
Cromwell said it was shocking that while he was not chosen, those who were below him in ranking were chosen to represent the national team at the qualifiers.
“I was shocked that with my current form and my ranking , I was overlooked for others who can’t compete with me in terms of my profile,” the 36-year-old told the Graphic Sports in an interview at his Italian base over the weekend.
“David Koney Adjetey and I are the two most qualified athletes in the country, but he was selected and I was not. I don’t know why,” a dejected Cromwell noted.
An aspiring Master, Cromwell disclosed that when he enquired from the president of the association, Frederick Otu Lartey, as to why he was not selected, he was simply told that the association never thought he had an Olympic ambition.
Cromwell said he would hang his robes as age was not on his side, saying the possibility of competing in another Olympics was shattered.
He said it was not surprising that Ghana, according to him, had performed abysmally so far in Agadir, as all the athletes failed to make it to the next stage of the competition.
He has , however, petitioned the National Sports Authority to look into the selection process of athletes into the Olympic qualifiers particularly with taekwondo.
