‘My bike tube burst’ – Ghana’s cycling champion laments using old bike for African Games
Ghana’s national cycling champion Michael Naaba had to pull out of the cycling event at the ongoing 2023 African Games due to a faulty bicycle.
Naaba, who won the National Cycling Championship last year, suffered a setback just minutes into the race after the tube of his bicycle tyre burst, forcing him to withdraw after no spare was provided.
Ghana’s Cycling Champion Michael Naaba withdrew from the race earlier today due to a malfunctioning bicycle. No bicycles from the federation meant he had to use his and it is not in the best shape. #3Sports #Accra2023 pic.twitter.com/zksGc9no5g
— Yaw (@theyawofosu) March 10, 2024
Michael Naaba laments using old bike
Michael Naaba
“I started preparations from last year when I knew that Ghana would host the games. I have been training day and night to prepare,” Naaba told 3Sports.
“When the race started, my bicycle failed me. My bike tube failed when the sound was blasted. I don’t have a good tube. I use the same one from training to compete.”
He added: “The bike I am using was given to me by the federation when I won the national championship years ago. The bike is an old one. If the government doesn’t give us new bicycles, we cannot compete.
“The bicycles we are using currently are ones we used our own money to buy. If you look at our outfits, you’ll realise that they are very old. We were told that new equipment was ordered for us but they haven’t arrived so we are using the old ones.”
Meanwhile, Ghana has now won four medals in the ongoing African Games – one silver from swimmer Abeiku Jackson and one gold and two silver medals from female weightlifter Winnifred Ntumi.
