The CAN (Canadian-American Veterans) Fencing championship is open to veterans from around the world, providing an opportunity for them to compete for glory. This is the first time Ghana has made an appearance in such a competition, which is exclusively for athletes aged 40 and above.
Ghana was represented by two athletes: Mohammed Mahadi, the president of the Ghana Fencing Federation, and Head Coach Abu Sofian.
“Mohammed Mahadi placed 16th in his division, while Coach Sofian placed 24th in the maiden edition. It was a tournament that was beyond just winning silverware; it was an opportunity for top-notch coaching and appearances. We were excited and learned a lot, as most of the top coaching masters from across the globe attended the tournament. They were also happy to see Ghana making its debut in this year’s edition.”
Mahadi said he has always been busy with administrative work, so he doesn’t get time to compete in such events.
“Ever since I introduced Fencing in Ghana, I haven’t been able to compete in any competitions because of administrative work. This is the first major international competition aside from the one in Seoul. It was really fun to compete up to the table of 16, though we were missing our main weapon because we arrived a night before the tournament. It was really great.’ We met a USA Fencing master who led the US national team to win the World Championship for the 12th consecutive time in Saber and in the Olympic Games. We had a very good interaction.”
The president of the Ghana Fencing Federation, Mahadi, further stated that shortly, Ghana will be hosting FIE major World Cup competitions.
“Very soon, Ghana will be hosting FIE International and Grand Prix events. I traveled to Tashkent on April 4th and 5th, where we discussed the development of fencing globally. We nominated 12 countries out of 115 to host the annual World Cup and Grand Prix events. This is a result of our two successful major events that Ghana has hosted: the 2020 Cadet Junior Championship and the 2023 Championship. So, it’s good news for Ghana, and we hope that this World Cup event will help in the development of Ghana Fencing.”
