President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is elated about team Ghana's largest medal haul in history achieved at the 13th African Games, Accra 2023. Ghana, hosting the Games for the first time (March 02-23), hauled a total of 68 medals - 19 gold, 29 silver, and 20 bronze - which is by far the largest in the nation's history. 'Let the success of these Games serve as a catalyst to invest further in sports development, and empower our youth to reach greater heights on the international stage. 'You have showcased the best of Ghana to the world,' the President noted in a congratulatory message to the contingent. With an impressive showing before the home crowd, the country dominated the soccer events as the male U-20 and female U-20 teams both claimed gold for the host. The hosts were also a delight to watch in the arm-wrestling events, showing their prowess by claiming eight gold medals, and making a strong presence in boxing and athletics. Ghana finished sixth out of 53 participating nations, an improvement ov er its 15th position in the 2019 Games in Rabat. 'To the people of Ghana, I thank you for believing in the ability of Government to host the Games, the first time in our history,' President Nana Akufo-Addo stated. As the nation basked in the glory of this unprecedented success, it was necessary that stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to promoting sports as a tool for national development and unity, he noted. 'Together, we can harness the power of sports to build a stronger, healthier and more prosperous Ghana for generations to come.' Some 5,000 athletes participated in this year's African Games in 30 disciplines - an increase from the 2019 African Games, which offered 26 sports. The 2015 Games had 22 disciplines. The 30 disciplines included eight Olympic qualifying events, 15 non-qualifying and seven demonstration sports that showcased emerging trends and disciplines. The Olympic qualifying events comprised swimming, athletics, badminton, cycling, tennis, table tennis, wrestling and triathlon. D emonstration sports included e-Sports, mixed martial arts, sambo and scrabble, promising what the African Union calls a 'glimpse into the future of sports entertainment'. One of the most significant legacies for Ghana is the construction of the new US$145 million (pound 132.5 million) Borteyman Sports Complex, which comes with a 1,000-seater Olympic-sized pool, 10-lane competition pool and an eight-lane warm-up pool. The African Games 2023 was also seen as a form of preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games which will take place in Paris in July 2024. The African Games, formerly known as the All-African Games or the Pan-African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years. It is organised by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC). Source: Ghana News Agency WINDHOEK: The University of Namibia (UNAM) rugby club put up an impressive second-half performance to overcome league-defending champions Trustco United 31-17 in their second fixture of the Namibia Rugby Premier League (NRPL). The 2024 NRPL season kicked off a fortnight ago with UNAM and United winning their league openers. At the UNAM Stadium on Saturday, Trustco United dominated the first 40 minutes of the match but missed a penalty and several chances to score a try earlier on in the match. With numerous missed opportunities the visitors found their foot and capitalized on UNAM's handling errors, winning possession, and scoring their first try but missed the conversion and failed to increase their lead to seven points. The home team UNAM had a well-organised defence which did its best to keep United at bay but within minutes running down, United once again managed to put more points on the scoreboard with their second try of the match after a hard-fought battle with the UNAM defence. United once again failed to convert from their try, ending the first half with a 10-0 scoreline in their favour. In the second half, it was all about the home team UNAM who managed to run in four tries while dominating play as United was a shadow of their first-half performance. In the second half, UNAM started strong and scored their first try just six minutes in, outplaying the United defence. United quickly responded with a try of their own, but UNAM's players showed a revived fighting spirit and managed to score three more tries along with a penalty as they used all mistakes from their opponents to pile up points on the scoreboard. Raschano van Rooi was in great form, converting all UNAM's tries and scoring a penalty, Alcino Izaacz scored two tries, while Shareave Titus and Berry Gande each scored one try. Trustco United only managed to score three tries through Jandre Esterhuyzen, Hanreco van Zly, and Callie Swanepoel, with Lorenzo Louis converting only one of them. In other Premier League matches played on Saturday , Grootfontein collected points away from home with a 39-13 win against Dolphins in Swakopmund. Meanwhile, Wanderers overcame stiff competition from Kudus with a 35-25 win in Windhoek, and Reho Falcons defeated their visiting opponents, Western Suburbs, 23-17 in Rehoboth. Source: The Namibia Press Agency