Boxing News of Thursday, 25 September 2003

Source: GNA

Eddie Blay's boxing medals missing

Accra, Sept. 25, GNA - Ghana's celebrated Olympian, Eddy Blay has reported of his missing medals won from one Olympic games and two Commonwealth games.

The missing medals include a bronze won at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and two gold medals won from the Kingston Commonwealth Games in 1962 and another gold from the Commonwealth Games held in Perth in 1966. "All these are missing from the custody of the National Sports Council (NSC) who have been the custodians over the years," the bewildered grey-haired ex-boxer told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Sports at his Osu "Sole Mio" Restaurant.

Sadly enough, he could not remember when the trophies got missing, but remembers, however, that, "the Olympic bronze medal was at the National Museum some ten years ago but I could not retrieve it for what they said were official reasons.

"I am appealing to whoever has my trophies to return them to me so that I can show them to my grand children," he said.

A search at the NSC drew a blank but some officials affirmed that there are some trophies packed for a proposed Hall of Fame but they could not tell whether Eddy Blay's was among them.

Meanwhile, the ex-boxer said he had made efforts through a volunteer in Tokyo to get him a duplicate of the prized bronze medal but it has not yet arrived.

The 63 year-old Eddy Blay was a founding member of the Black Bombers, the national amateur boxing squad.

Blay fought, as a welterweight and was the captain of the team for many years.

It was during his captaincy that Ghana was adjudged the strongest boxing nation in the commonwealth.