By the close of competition, the Ghana Badminton Association was celebrating not only a smoothly run logistical operation but also the country’s strongest individual-event showing at an Olympic qualifier in 64 years, headlined by a gold, a silver and two bronze medals.
Ghana Badminton Association president Evans Yeboah said the tournament reflected years of effort to build the sport’s profile on the continent, noting that the federation has positioned itself as a pioneer in hosting major global badminton events.
He said the response from the international badminton community to Ghana’s organisation and logistics reinforced that standing, and pointed to a broader body of work: a combined 29 medals won across six global tournaments hosted in Ghana over the past year, alongside four medals won at the African Youth Games in Angola and further results at the African Schools Games.
Among the standout results was gold in the women’s doubles for Moslena Ama Korama Adu, partnering Rachel Quarcoo, in a campaign the pair had originally expected to contest at junior level before advancing to face senior opposition, including players from Uganda.
Moslena Adu described the win as a major achievement for the pair, and said the ranking points secured alongside the title carry direct weight toward Olympic qualification, shaping which opponents players are drawn against in future continental and world events.
I’m very determined to get to the Olympics. But I think with my current points, I need to build up the goals in a lot of tournaments and then improve upon my points so that I can qualify.”Moslena Ama Korama Adu, Women’s Doubles Champion
Evans Yeboah addressed the point directly, confirming that with Rachel’s school term ending, the pair are expected to train together in Accra in the coming weeks as part of the federation’s build-up toward future qualifying events.
In the women’s singles, top seed Romane Cloteaux Foucault of France settled for silver after a closely contested final, having entered the tournament with the title as her goal. Foucault, competing in Ghana for the second time, described the tournament as well organised and said she was taking positive momentum into her next stop, a tournament in Nigeria the following week, ahead of a longer-term target of qualifying for the Olympics in two years.
It was my second time here. I already played last year, and it’s a very good tournament, a very good hall, a very good organisation.”Romane Cloteaux Foucault, Women’s Singles Runner-Up, France
Federation sets sight on LA 2028
Yeboah outlined an extensive qualifying calendar ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, with players set to compete in Egypt the following month, then in Scotland and Wales in November, before the African Championship in Algeria in January.
He said the federation has roughly two years and three months remaining to complete the qualification series across all five individual disciplines, men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles with the goal of ranking inside the world’s top 48 by the close of the qualification period in April 2028.
He added that hosting the Grand Slam carried its own competitive stakes: Ghana’s players faced and beat opponents from Australia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates en route to an all-Ghana women’s doubles final, from which the gold and silver were secured, alongside two bronze-medal finishes elsewhere in the draw.
We’ve never come this close before. The energy is building up… we know that will get a couple of the athletes to the pedestal by the end of April 2028.”Evans Yeboah, President, Ghana Badminton Association
Yeboah said the federation’s coaching courses and grassroots development programmes have continued in parallel with the elite qualifying push, with recent sessions held in Sunyani in the north of the country and in the Ashanti Region, and a further stop planned in the Volta Region before the end of the month.
He said the intention is to extend the sport’s reach beyond the capital and into talent pools across the country. The federation also carried out a full African technical officiating assessment during the event, which Yeboah said would help technical officials qualify to work at future international competitions.
At A Glance
38 nations competed at the Borteyman Sports Complex
12 global ranking medals were contested over the event
10-day tournament doubling as a World Ranking Event and an LA 2028 Olympic Qualifier
Ghana’s haul: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze the country’s best individual-event result at an Olympic qualifier in 64 years