Ghana’s badminton programme has achieved its strongest Olympic qualifying result in 64 years after winning four medals at the Badminton Grand Slam 2026 held at the Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra.
The World Ranking Event and Olympic qualifying series attracted athletes from 38 countries, with Ghana finishing the competition with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
The performance represents a major boost for the Ghana Badminton Association as it steps up preparations towards the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Ghana Badminton Association President Evans Yeboah attributed the achievement to sustained efforts to develop badminton and improve the country’s standing as a host of major international competitions.
According to him, Ghana has won a combined 29 medals across six global tournaments hosted in the country over the past year, in addition to medals secured at the African Youth Games in Angola and the African Schools Games.
The standout performance in Accra came in the women’s doubles, where Moslena Ama Korama Adu and Rachel Quarcoo emerged champions after progressing to an all-Ghanaian final.
The pair overcame opposition from countries including Uganda, Australia and the United Arab Emirates before securing the gold medal, with their performance also earning valuable ranking points towards Olympic qualification.
Adu said winning the title was a major achievement but acknowledged that she would need to compete in more tournaments to accumulate enough ranking points for a place at the Olympics.
“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,” she said.
The player also highlighted the challenge of preparing with Quarcoo, as the two players are based in different locations and typically train together when they report to camp for tournaments.
Mr Yeboah said the federation is working to improve their preparation, with Quarcoo expected to train in Accra following the end of her school term as the qualification campaign continues.
In the women’s singles, France’s top seed Romane Cloteaux Foucault settled for silver after a closely contested final.
Foucault, who was making her second appearance in Ghana, praised the organisation of the competition and described the tournament as useful preparation for her own Olympic ambitions.
“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,” she said.
Ghana’s Olympic qualification campaign will continue across five individual disciplines — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Mr Yeboah said the federation has until April 2028 to accumulate ranking points, with Ghana targeting qualification by having athletes ranked among the world’s top 48.
The team is scheduled to compete in Egypt next month before travelling to Scotland and Wales in November, followed by the African Championship in Algeria in January.
He said Ghanaian players have already gained valuable experience and ranking points from competing against athletes from several leading badminton nations.
“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,” he said.
The federation is also expanding its grassroots and coaching development programmes beyond Accra, with recent training sessions held in Sunyani and the Ashanti Region.
A further coaching programme is expected to be held in the Volta Region before the end of August.
The Ghana Badminton Association also conducted an African technical officiating assessment during the Grand Slam, aimed at strengthening the country’s pool of qualified officials for future international competitions.
