Nkegbe failed to pick a place in Men 100 meters finals

London, Sept. 1, GNA - Veteran Paralympian Rapheal Botsyo Nkegbe, on Saturday failed to pick a place in the finals of the men 100 meters T54 category as he placed a distant eighth position at the Olympic Stadium, Stratford in the 14th paralympics Games in London.

Nkegbe, who is having his third appearance in the Paralympics Games, after Athens and Beijing could only manage a time of 15.52 in a race won by Liu Yang from China with a time of 13.91, Konjen Saichon of Thailand with a time of 14.16 and Van Wheegel Knenny of the Netherlands with a time 14.02 picking the second and third place respectively.

The woes of the 33 year old in the competition could be attributed to a bad start on his part and this denied him a place in the first three of the race as well as a very good time that could make him of the best losers to make it to the finals.

Nkegbe's dream of changing his fortunes in the competition has thus fallen on rocks as the Ghanaian described his time as "disappointing".

"It's a bad time. I am disappointed because i know my time but this was not good enough". He told the GNA Sports in an interview few minutes after the race.

He however stated, he was happy to have had his third participation in the global event as well as one of the two Africans in the race in London.

"Qualifying for the Games is no mean an achievement. I am happy i made it here as a Ghanaian and one of the two Africans in my category." He said.

Nkegbe, who was hoping to pick a place in the finals of the competition, has thus ended his campaign in the competition.

Ghana will be counting on Anita Fodjour to revive the hopes of the nation in the women 100 and 200 meters event.

(By: William D. Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent, London, England)