Ghanaian Judoka Szandra Szogedi already an Olympic delight

Hungarian-born Ghanaian judoka Szandra Szogedi is already an Olympic delight few weeks into the games.

Szogedi became the first Ghanaian female judoka to qualify after she secured her slot at the Almaty Judo Grand Prix event in Kazakhstan in May.

She clocked 444 points to achieve the feat.

Speaking to Africanews, Szandra said “It’s emotional because I just narrowly missed out on qualifying for the London Olympics and so its been a tough four years. It was hard time but i just kept my faith and kept going and qualified and I am really proud to be the first female judoka to represent Ghana at the Olympics.”

Szandra’s husband-Alex Amoako, a Ghanaian is making her eligible to compete for the West African country.

Her qualification she indicated is an end to a long chase.

Szandra recently won her fourth medal at the African Judo Championship after clinching bronze in the 63k category at the 2016 African Judo Championship in Tunisia. A good showing in Rio is not up for debate.

In total, she’s won seven medals made up of three gold and four bronze medals since making her Ghana debut four years ago.

“I always say that at the Olympics everything is possible. What i want is to come off the tatami mat and to say i left everything there whether is one fight, two fights or an olympic gold, an olympic medal what ever it will be i really hope i can make the country proud,” she added.

She has remained most consistent female judoka in the last few years and currently ranked 33th in the World rankings and 2nd in Continental Rankings.

Ghana recently announced a 16-member contingent for the Games.
All 16 are first-time Olympians, and will be hoping to make the country proud.