The story of the valiant Millicent Ankude: From the streets of Hohoe, Ghana to Birmingham, England
Millicent Ankude's participation in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham came at a cost, but a cocktail of perseverance, belief and a big act of faith slowly snowballed into one of her ultimate dreams.
Table Tennis
Milicent Ankude decided one day to take a leap of faith by gathering whatever minimal resources she had and booked a flight to Lagos, Nigeria.
Little did she know this flight changed her life in the blink of an eye.
Ankude hails from Ghana, and is a table tennis player - even if her sport is not particularly popular in the country.
Her journey to Lagos, and where it would subsequently lead her, required a lot of perseverance.
But how did she get there?
Finding table tennis on the streets of Hohoe
Table tennis may be one of the lesser-known sports in Ghana, but in Hohoe, a town in the country's Volta Region, it is a culture. So much so that this culture trickled down to Millicent and influenced her love for the sport.
“I found table tennis on the streets of Hohoe during my infancy,” Ankude told Olympics.com.
There was a table tennis spot close to her primary school and during break time, she would go with her friends, pay “something small” and play till it was time to resume classes.
It was through her immense display of talent that she caught the eye of a table tennis coach, Raccoson Prah, who decided to scout her to play at the district level at Hohoe in 2008.
“This man noticed me playing and discussed the potential I have in the sport with my parents and fortunately they accepted that I could join his team and play.”
While she was in senior high school, a different coach, David Senyo Ahiagbah, took Ankude under his radar. He recruited her into his club at the time, Vilcabamba, and helped honed her skills further by designing a training regiment for her.
"He organised local competitions for me in the Volta Region with an intensive training to boost my confidence in the sport," Ankude added.
After graduating, she decided to dedicate two years to playing table tennis professionally where she featured in tournaments across Ghana including in Greater Accra, the Volta Region, the Central Region, and the Eastern Region.
“During this time, I dedicated six days to training non-stop. They were very intense training (sessions) from 6 am to 6 pm. I never complained because I really loved it and I knew what I wanted to do,” she said.
During this time, she was scouted and attained a full scholarship to study for a degree in administration at the University of Ghana, Legon, while playing table tennis for the school.
“Entering uni was a big step for me. Finding the balance between table tennis and school was a bit difficult but I found my way regardless,” she said.
She fulfilled the table tennis clause in her scholarship by participating in the Ghana University Games (GUSA), a bi-annual sports tournament for Ghanaian universities.
She won two medals for the University of Ghana during the 2018 GUSA Games in Legon, Accra. These were in the mixed doubles and women’s team events.
After that specific GUSA Games, she participated in the West African University Games for her school in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where she won bronze in singles and women’s doubles.
“It was really difficult because the Nigerians are a tough nut to crack. Being in the top four, I believe I did exceptionally well,” she recalled.
That set her up to take the biggest plunge into the unknown.
Taking flights and booking dreams
In 2019, Ankude took a bold step by garnering resources, however little she could find, from private sponsors. With this and in addition to her own savings, Millicent booked a flight to Lagos, Nigeria, to participate in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup.
The Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) sponsored her accommodation, her entry fee, and her upkeep.
“When I got there, it wasn’t easy. Top players from around the globe were present but I wasn’t intimidated because I knew I was there to do my best,” she recounted.
She finished 14th of the 22 players competing at the Africa Cup, which was also a qualifier for that year's Women's World Cup, although she did not do well enough to earn the berth on offer. Still, it was a learning experience.
“I met my role models like Omar Assar and Aruna Quadri and we had really great interactions. I asked them about what kept them going and they told me to train hard, be consistent, keep my cool, and be positive,” she shared.
Her story was far from over, however. Fate's machinery was still churning away in Ankude's table tennis journey.
A special call
Three years on, she received an all-important call from the technical director of the GTTA that she had been picked to represent Ghana in table tennis at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
This happened because she was ranked on the International Table Tennis Federation's world rankings for having taken part at the 2019 Africa Cup and a Challenge Plus Series event in Lagos a week after.
“I remember we were in our examination period when the technical director broke the news," she remembered. "I was so excited and I was jumping for joy.”
The Commonwealth Games, where she played in the women's singles and doubles, was a learning curve for Ankude.
For the singles, she was in a group with athletes from South Africa, Guyana, and Mauritius. They proved to be stiff opponents for Ankude and stifled her efforts to qualify for the next round.
“They were all tough matches but for me, (but) I always tell people that it will always be a learning experience I appreciate,” she said.
Ankude would have loved very much to participate in this year’s African Games, set to be hosted in Ghana, but she sustained an injury last year and is still recovering. However, she has plans to help officiate in the table tennis events.
“This won’t be my first time officiating. I officiated the African Youth Championship Ghana hosted in 2018 and 2019,” she pointed out.
She added she has international exposure for officiating and is “not intimidated or nervous about it”. She expects great matches.
And while she won't be playing, Ankude believes her Ghanaian teammates will show out and will put on a great performance at the Games on home soil.
“I know the Ghanaian team and I know what they can do. They may meet tough and big teams that are equally good, but I just need them to do their best and deliver great performances.”