ACCRA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The curtain of the second edition of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Games was brought down at a colorful ceremony held at the El Wak Sports Stadium in Accra on Friday, with Ghana emerging as the overall winners of the competition.
Ghana bagged a total of 37 medals to take home the coveted trophy at stake, beating its fiercest rival Nigeria, who garnered 35 medals to place second, followed by Senegal with seven medals.
Ghana led the medal table with 17 gold, 11 silver and nine bronze. Nigeria collected 13 gold, 16 silver and six bronze medals, whilst Senegal got four gold medals, four silver and two bronze.
Eleven states out of the 15-member sub-regional body competed in five sporting events, namely athletics, handball, volleyball, traditional wrestling, and boxing, which featured for the first time.
Closing the Games, Ghana's Minister of Youth and Sports, Clement Kofi Humado, advised ECOWAS member-states to continue to use sports as an important tool for peace and unity of the sub region, saying they must work together to protect and defend the relative peace and tranquility in the area.
The Games were seen as a good opportunity for West African sports men and women to test-run their preparations for the forthcoming London Olympic Games.
The aim of the Games, among other things, is to bring the youth and peoples of the ECOWAS sub-region together through sports and to help foster the spirit of friendship and sub-regional integration.
Each member of the winning teams was presented with medals by Humado and his deputy, Edward Kofi Omane-Boamah, who is also the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the competition.
Cote d'Ivoire has been given the right to host the third edition of the Games in 2014.