Ghana’s female Weightlifting sensation, Juliana Arkoh has accused the Ghana Weightlifting Federation (GWF) of maltreatment during the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
According to the multiple medal winner, she was not in the right frame of mind prior to the games and did not even want to travel with the team due to the way officials of the sports’ governing body in Ghana treated her.
Speaking on Sports24 TV, on Wednesday, Juliana revealed that the leadership of the GWF never considered her welfare as an athlete, but were only interested in using her to win laurels for the country.
“It [the Nanjing Youth Olympics] was my first time and it was great. But before I got to the games, emotionally I was so much disturbed, so I was not in a good mood”, she said.
Speaking on why she wasn’t in a good mood, Juliana noted that: “I have passed through a lot of maltreatment from the Weightlifting Federation, so I did not want to go to the Olympics.
“They [GWF] lured me and told me that all monies owed me in the past will not be given to me if I don’t go because it is the International Olympic Committee which is going to pay me the money since all the tournaments I went were prior to the Olympic Games.
”I didn’t believe them because they have lied to me on several occasions. So I went there I wasn’t in any good mood” Juliana added.
But the GWF failed to honour their promises in China, according to the young weightlifter.
“The leader of the delegation [In China], Arko Dadzie, a commander from the Ghana Airforce told me nothing was going to be paid and they are not going to pay any per diem, but we are all going to play and come back to Ghana.
“That got me mad and decided to report the matter to the IOC Office in Nanjing and the IOC took me back to our camp.
“I was handed over to the leader of the team and he nearly tore me into pieces. He asked me and my coach to pack and travel back to Ghana but I refused because I knew they were going to dent my image to the media.
“The people walking to me had to come in to solve the issue before I was allowed back in the team camp” Juliana Arko narrated.
Weightlifting: GWF Maltreated Me In Nanjing- Juliana Arkoh
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