Veteran judoka, Rashid Alhassan has expressed frustrations and accused authorities in charge of the sport of judo in Ghana of plotting to unceremoniously axe him from the national team despite being the top-ranked athlete in his weight division.

The Sweden-based athlete did not hold back in pointing accusing fingers at the leadership of the Ghana Judo Association among many explosive revelations to the Graphic Sports in an exclusive interview via phone from his European base.

Alhassan says in-fighting, nepotism and favouritism by some administrators in charge of Ghanaian sports, with emphasis on the Ghana Judo Association, are among the major causes of the country's sporting decline.

He is calling for a completely new approach by Sports Minister, Kofi Adams, to restore sanity and breathe a new lease of life of equal opportunities for all athletes. He insists that this must be handled urgently to propel the country back to being among the best on the global sporting map.

Recounting his sad case in which he was denied the right to compete for Ghana at last year's Accra 2023 African Games despite his top rating, Alhassan said it was just the tip of the iceberg in Ghana's murky sports bureaucracy crowded with self-centred leaders.

This he said has often hindered truly exceptional athletes from realising their full potential as they are sidelined for 'favourites' of officials.

"From 2022 to 2024, I was on an Olympic scholarship and consistently ranked at the top of the 81kg category in Ghana. I represented my country at major competitions, including the Commonwealth Games, the African Championships in Cameroun, and the Abidjan Africa Open 2023, where I placed seventh," recounted Alhassan who turned 37 last Saturday.

"Despite my achievements, I faced constant challenges from the same people within the Ghana Judo Association. In 2023, I won a bronze medal at the Budo Nord competition in Lund.

My next event was supposed to be the African Games, but upon arrival, I received a suspension letter from the acting president. Since then, I have continued training but have been denied the opportunity to compete," he revealed.

A junior star who became a national champion at age 16 and earned him a spot on the national team, Alhassan moved to Denmark in 2011 before joining Osterlen Judo in Sweden a year later. In his first season, Alhassan won 11 medals and many more years of consistency have followed.

He also earned a return to the national team under former President of the federation, Emmanuel Tetteh and consequently earned enrolment on the International Olympic Committee's Solidarity programme.

Following the untimely death of Mr Tetteh in January 2023 and the ascent to the post by Acting President, Ken Arthur however, things have gone from bad to worse for Alhassan who has since been handed an indefinite suspension.

Worse, he points out that several other judokas have suffered similar fates at the hands of the vindictive administration, with not less than seven also suspended within the past year.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Ghana Judo Association, John Kennedy Koranteng has corroborated Alhassan's case of unfair treatment.

Mr Koranteng, an employee of the National Sports Authority who was also elected at the sport’s Congress, points to deeper issues within the association which need to be addressed.

He recounts that even the issue of his retirement from public service has become the bone of contention amid a power struggle at the top of the administration of the sport in this country ahead of purported elections of new executives in June.

"Yes, they said Alhassan was banned indefinitely for indiscipline but no specifics on what he did. Then again our own international rules stipulate that an athlete must face a disciplinary committee but we don't even have one," Mr Koranteng told the Graphic Sports.

"Even myself they have sidelined me on the premise that I'm past my retirement age but they forget I was elected at the Congress.

The AJU and IJF always serve me with all official correspondence and pieces of information because they still recognise me as the General Secretary so I'm not worried," he lamented.