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The Vice-chairman of the Handball Association of Ghana (HAG), Nortey Dowuona, has eulogized the late Saka Acquaye for making the sport gain national attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it was introduced into the country.

He said that even though handball owed its progress in Ghana to the hard work of Messrs Acquaye, Emile Missodey, and Mr. S.K. Hlordze, the late Acquaye was the man whose untiring efforts as a staff at the National Sports Authority (NSA) popularised the game in the Greater Accra Region and other parts of the country.

“The Great Fingers International Handball Club was the fist handball club established in the country for which I was a player while Saka Acquaye played for HOSTAC Handball Club, an offshoot of Great Fingers. We played against each other and it was exciting, especially during Homowo,” Mr. Dowuona told the Graphic Sports as he paid tribute to his departed friend and a former national star.

Mr. Dowuona stressed that the late Acquaye’s exploits in swimming as a former national star were similar to what he had done in handball.

“He was not a swimming person alone; he developed many sporting disciplines, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, athletics, and handball.”

He noted that the late Acquaye, nicknamed ‘fish’ for his swimming exploits during his heyday, deserved to be celebrated and honoured by the state for his achievements in Ghana sports over the decades.

Until his death on June 24 at the 37 Military Hospital, the late Acquaye was the Deputy Director General (Technical) of the National Sports Authority.

He will be buried in Accra on September 12 after a burial service at the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in Accra.