Why sports, you ask?? Why breathe?? I ask you back. Several scores down the line and our values still agree that sports is life. Its perplexing varieties are usually dominated by males and until recently they were ever hardly prevalent with females.
Some ladies have managed to chalk monumental successes in the domain of sports, breaking the status quo, making use of the saying, “What a man can do, a woman can do and even better’’. By dint of hard work which consequently results in outstanding performances, somewhat etches the noble name of the school on the map.
Such honour has been done to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) by a handful of ladies notably among them is Mensah Aberampah Daniella, a 21 year old lady, second of four children, studying BA Social Work and a member of the Christ Apostolic Church.
Hers isn’t just a passion for sports, but rather a fiery obsession. In an interview with myJCR.com, she disclosed that her desire for sporting activities began in Primary two regardless of the fact that she was a novice as at the time which attracted repulsive attitudes from her critics.
Nonetheless she wasn’t daunted. She stretched beyond snapping back and received help from a friend who became more or less a personal trainer. However the enthusiasm waned in Junior High School in relation to the fact that sporting activities were less flamboyant. Her burning desire to see herself mesmerize her fans on the field brought her back on track again in Senior High School.
As she progressed over time with the training she unassumingly became a pro which explains her versatility in most of the sporting activities with the exception of tennis and volleyball. Majorly she specializes in sprinting and she’s such a freak. The very first competition that featured her was The Freshers’ Games which took place in October 2012. She participated in the 400, 800, 1500 and 5000 metres race all of which she came first. That same year saw her participating in the KNUST cross-country during which she emerged fifth. After that event she was selected to train towards the inter-university cross-country which came off in November 2012.
Six schools participated namely University of Ghana, University of Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, University of Winneba, University of Mines and Technology, UPSA and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Each school presented ten candidates. Daniella came second out of the ten students presented by KNUST and was 29th in the entire race. In addition she wasn’t exempt from the GUSA games which took place between 10th and 24th June this year at Asipon in the Western Region. Her sprinting prowess earned her a bronze medal when she came third in the 5000 metres race.
In the recently ended college games, her indefinable essence was honoured again as she placed in each of the activities participated thus 2nd in 5000, 1st in 800 and 1st in the 4×400 metres races. She was a member of the soccer team in first year but quit because she couldn’t combine sprinting and soccer but just does it as a hobby.
She attests to the fact that regular training sharpens her brain even though it sometimes affects her studies because occasionally she has to forfeit lectures for training. When myJCR.com inquired about her relationship status she responded in the affirmative. She tells us how much her boyfriend loves, appreciates and encourages her to always give her best shot. He got her a present when she earned the bronze medal for placing third in the GUSA games. Things seem to bode well as two of them seem not to have any problems with her wearing short jerseys for events. Her response to marrying an athlete was neutral. She hopes to do sports till marriage. She wasn’t hesitant to say no when asked whether she minded joining The Ghana University Team as well as The National Team.
In the near future, she wishes to double as a Social worker and an Accountant. Her final input was that everyone should get involved in some kind of sporting activity in order to keep fit health-wise. A few days without training renders her feverish and susceptible to gaining weight. Daniella is currently the Sports Chairperson for Africa Hall, Cross-Country Captain for KNUST and the class rep of her class.
