ANALYSIS: Did Sierra Leone come to Glasgow to participate or to ‘mellow?’

(Last updated Wednesday 30^th July 2014): Thanks to ‘Tax-Payers’ money’, Sierra Leone was able to send a total of 26 athletes including six foreign-based (the largest contingent of athletes ever to represent the country in one competition), to the 20th Commonwealth Games currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

Expectations were very high and as usual, whilst the sports authorities i.e. the Sports Ministry and the National Olympic Committee (NOC-SL) were scavenging to raise the necessary funds needed to buy air tickets and provide tiny allowances; officials of the Eight represented associations fighting each other over the selection of athletes albeit the highest bidders, rumors persistently continue to make the rounds that the mindset of the athletes is to disappear into thin air once they step their foot on European soil.

Amidst all those misconceptions and mistrust, the bulk of the contingent stationed in Freetown finally left on 15^th July 2014, transit through London and at the end landed in Glasgow via road (almost ten hours drive).

By then, it was even understood the athletes and their accompanying officials were to receive their One Thousand or so United States dollars allowances only upon the arrival of the controversial Sports Minister Paul Kamara and the other NOC-SL top guns almost a week when ‘Team Sierra Leone’ will be acclimatizing in the Games Village.

To cut a long story short, ‘Team Sierra Leone’ stunned the whole world with their apparent Green White and Blue ‘rappel’ and snow-white trousers uniform being led, like all other country’s teams, by a puppy-dog into the famous Celtic FC field which shares its frontier with the Emirate Arena all found in the Celtic Park on July 23^rd 2014, the day of the opening ceremony of the 20^th Commonwealth Games.

‘Team Sierra Leone’s’ glamorous and triumphant parade on the opening ceremony one would have imagine would have transformed into the athletes springing surprises in the various arena where the games are held but that was not to be the case, even as the games crawl to the end of their first week.

Imagine the only Judo fighter in the team Leslie Smith (66kg) failing to report to face his Wales opponent in the Preliminary Round of 32 the very first day of the games at the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre (SECC-Hall 3), thereby paving the way for 26-year-old Jamie Macdonald to easily cruise through to the second round of the competition without a fight?

There and then, the ‘blame game’ started!

“Smith told me the competition starts at 10 am and will fight in the afternoon,” National Judo coach Idrissa Massaquoi insisted.

Massaquoi continued he had gone for an extraction the previous day that eventually led to a surgery and therefore, was unable to attend the Technical Meeting where colors are agreed upon and time for bouts fixed.

He said he expected the organizers to have applied the standard rule which is starting from the lower weight to the higher by this means insinuating Leslie Smith on 66kg should not have been the first to have fought.

“As an athlete, my own responsibility is to go to the center to check my weight and not to attend Technical Meetings,” Leslie Smith argued.

Smith, who made his debut in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at age 38, however apologized to the whole nation for the ‘mistake’ and henceforth tenders his resignation from all international Judo competitions.

“My expectation in this my first Commonwealth Games is to make the mark but since it has turned out to be a disappointment, I apologize to the whole nation and with immediate effect resign from all international Judo competitions,” said the downtrodden Leslie Smith.

How Leslie Smith, who the whole nation knows is a Judo coach metamorphosed into an athlete to represent Sierra Leone in a world class sports event like the Commonwealth Games, still remains to be a mystery.

And that misery followed ‘Team Sierra Leone’ from the stage to the court where two Squash players were shown the exit door the very day.

Professional Squash player based in Turkey Issa Bangura lost 3-0 to New Zealand’s Paul Coll.

In the first set, Bangura was thrashed 0-11 without reply but managed to raise his game in both the second and third sets albeit losing 5-11 and 7-11 respectively.

Courageous enough, Issa Bangura admitted his opponent was far better than him.

“Coll is New Zealand’s Number 2 Seed and a better player,” he said, adding: “the result was indeed very disappointing…I started my game very slow and by the time I tried to get back it was too late.”

Like Leslie Smith, Issa Bangura was a debutant in the Commonwealth Games. The 35 years-old left the Games Village 24 hours after his defeat.

However, the story of James Fayia another Squash player is totally distasteful to say the least. Half drunk and gulping more local Scottish brewed beer from a huge jar Fayia shamelessly boasted: “Everybody knows Squash players do normally drink alcohol so is no big deal if an amateur player like me drinks beer!”

James Fayia, 38 and weighing 68kg, was scandalously beaten 11-4; -11-2 and 11-2 by Joe Chapman from the British Virgin Islands who weighs 77kg and is only 24 years old.

He said his coming to the games was neither to participate nor to compete but rather to gain recognition from the sports’ international body and was satisfied he achieved just that.

“We have no qualify coach, standard court and rackets and balls are lacking, no competitive national competition and we want to start a project with kids who will replace us,” he said, as the stench of alcohol mixing with his breath saturated the very cold air.

James Fayia said he has finally call it quit in order to give chance to upcoming players, a decision warmly welcome by some sports journalists who see him as a bad influence on the very kids he purported he wanted to introduce Squash.

Day 2. From the Squash Court to the Boxing Ring. The announcer announces the two countries to compete-Australia and Sierra Leone! It was the Preliminaries-Session 2 for the Men’s Welter (69kg) between Daniel Lewis (Red) and Mohamed Sillah (Blue). The bell rang and at the end of the first round the result read thus: 10-9; 10-9 and 10-9 in favor of Lewis.

And as the momentum begins to gather pace with Sillah becoming more confident he would overturn the result and eventually win the bout, low and below disaster looms on the horizon! Two minutes and 35seconds into Round 2 the referee was force to stop the fight after Sillah received seven solid unstoppable punches without reply standing miserably in his corner like a statue gazing at the wild audience.

Sensing danger from all indications, all three judges delivered their verdicts…Daniel Lewis won Bout 20 on ‘Technical Knockout.’

This happened under the supervision of two imported ‘Black’ coaches since Sierra Leone cannot provide at least a ‘Star 3’ Boxing Coach indeed!

It was later learnt the old man Lumprey Sesay is the only qualified Sierra Leone Boxing Coach but never form part of the boxing contingent to Glasgow for only God knows why.

All hopes then hinge on another boxer police officer Abdul Rashid Bangura also making his debut. Reports have it Bangura has informed the world he had escaped from rebels during the 11 years civil war in Sierra Leone to settle in Freetown- a story which attracted huge interest for the international media.

Bangura’s first round approach against Canadian-born Brody Blair in the Preliminaries –Session 4 was as ferocious as the word itself. In a twinkle of an eye, blood was spotted running down the left eye of his opponent. Brody Blair had to be taken to his corner for medical attention. The talented and easy going Blair surprisingly led the aggressive Bangura by just a point 10-9 in Round One.

Amazingly, just 15 seconds into Round Two the match was stopped abruptly by the Hungarian referee Roland Juhasz and guess what? The fight is over and two from the three judges declared Brody Blair the eventual winner!

Like Mohamed Sillah, Abdul Rashid Bangura aged 30 years, fought under the supervision of imported ‘Black’ coaches from Nigeria and Cameroun.

So at the end of Day 2, Sierra Leone has completely being eliminated from Judo, Squash and boxing.

Whilst all this was going on, a cyclist by the name of Moses Sesay was reeling in his sick bed at a nearby town clinic (mind you he was only discharged last Sunday). His roommate, another boxer called Mohamed Tholley, seem to have no sympathy for him as he has disappeared from the Games Village since that day and could not be traced.

“My fear is the fact that Mohamed Tholley left his room key behind means he will not be coming back,” says the national cycling President Winston Crowther. The cyclists are due to compete on the 31^st July and 3^rd August 2014 and up to press time, Mohamed Tholley has not surfaced meaning he has absconded.

Eventually all hopes were dashed when on Sunday July 27 not a single athlete qualified from the sprint and other heats in athletics.

The professionals flown into Glasgow from as far as the USA were mere amateurs.

In the 100meters Men Heat, Solomon Bockarie came sixth clocking 10:83; Gibrilla Pato Bangura fifth with 10:79; and Adel Sesay seventh with 11:02.

In the 200 meters heat for women Michaela Kargbo finished in eight position with a time of 12mins 33 secs and Hafsatu Kamara ran a time of 12mins 14 secs.

 The 400meters heat for women was also nothing good to write home about. Mariatu Suma ran 57mins 15secs; Rebecca Ansumana ran 58mins 23secs and Christiana Eke 54mins 80secs. All failed to qualify to the next stage of the competition.

At the SECC (Hall 3), where on Tuesday July 29 the Round of 16 for the Men’s FS-74kg Wrestling took place, 22 years old Alpha Bangura lost to Nigeria’s Melvin Bibo on 5-0 points.

The 37 years old Bibo who weighs 84kg defeated Bangura 8-0 points in the first period thereby winning the bout ‘Victory by fall.’

From the sweat and toil to agility, precision and focus, female Table Tennis player Stella Grant the same day lost her two matches by four-straight sets.

It took New Zealand’s 32 years-old Annie Yang 14 minutes to plan Grant’s ordeal for the rest of the day after demolishing her 11-1; 11-1; 11-4 and 11-2, leaving 17-year-old Emma Ludlow to completely ice the cake with a four-straight win 11-9; 11-2; 11-7 and 11-5 in just 15 minutes ending Stella Grant’s hopes of progressing from Pool F.

Grant’s male counterpart Samuel Morris also has his own day on the table and was able to win a match 4-3 and lose the other 4-0.

Both players admitted lack of facilities and ill-preparedness were responsible for their defeats

“We never played against an opponent using a robber on the racket, we lack the basic facilities back home and were a little bit impatient and frightened since it was our first major international competition,” they said.

Stella Grant said they will go back to the drawing board and put more time and effort in their training.

Another ‘red-letter’ day for ‘Team Sierra Leone’ indeed!

The desolation for ‘Team Sierra Leone’ continues at the Hampden Park Stadium where on Wednesday July 30 2014, Solomon Bockarie took fifth position in Round One Heat Two of the 200m race clocking a time of 21mins 45secs.

Both Stella Grant and Samuel Morris the same day lost their Mixed Double encounter to the Jamaicans 3-1 thereby signaling the end of their participation in the games.

The athletes and coaches continue to complain about poor preparation before and during the games.

“We came to Glasgow without a single medical doctor or physiotherapist,” said they

Even the Chef ‘De’ Mission Unisa Deen Kargbo could not hide his disappointment on the lack of preparedness.

“I have to bless a woman who came with a sewing machine and she is the one helping out to sew our team’s uniforms as we came here with no uniforms,” he confessed.

He however appealed to the remaining contestants to give up their very best to attract more Government support.

Credit: SWASAL; Sponsor: Mercury International (SL) Ltd

By Frank Cole in Glasgow, Scotland

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