Baru snatches silver for Team PNG

TEAM Papua New Guinea won its first medal on Saturday through weightlifting silver medallist Morea Baru in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
He lifted 121kg in the snatch and 152kg in the clean and jerk, scoring a total lift of 273kg in the men’s 61kg to finish behind Malaysia’s Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin, who scored 285kg.

India won bronze with a total lift of 269kg.
This is the second time Baru has won silver in the Commonwealth Games, the last one was in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
Supporting Morea were Team PNG athletes and officials, including PNG Commonwealth Games Association president Sir John Dawanincura, PNG Sports Foundation executive director Albert Veratau and Team PNG chef de mission Michael Henao.

“Morea’s performance was brilliant,” Henao said.
“He put on a strong performance against the Commonwealth’s best and came home with a silver medal, putting Team PNG onto the medal tally.
“Baru’s quiet, humble demeanour continues to inspire Team PNG.
“We join his family and Papua New Guineans at home and across the world in congratulating Morea on this fantastic achievement.”
National women’s champion Dika Toua took to the platform in what proved to be a highly competitive 49kg, missing out on a medal by a mere 1kg.
Toua lifted 74kg in the snatch and 96kg in the clean and jerk, settling in with a total of 170kg.
To swimming, Team PNG’s Ryan Maskelyne broke his own best of 1:03.89 in the men’s 100m breaststroke, setting a new national record with a time of 1:03.31.
Team PNG’s Georgia-Leigh Vele also set a personal best in the women’s 50m freestyle, finishing with a time of 27.8 seconds.

In squash, Team PNG’s Amity Alarcos went down fighting to England’s Lucy Turmel 3-0 in the women’s singles.

Squash juniors debut at Game

TEAM Papua New Guinea squash veteran Madako Suari Jr is competing in his third Commonwealth Games and retains his ranking as the national men’s champions.
In Suari’s first match on day one, he put up a respectable fight against Malaysian No.3 Syafiq Kamal.
Making their Commonwealth debuts are Amity Alarcos (18) and Feanor Siaguru (20).
Amity holds the national women’s title and recently awarded the 2022 SP Sports Awards junior female athlete of the year.
She has competed in PNG, regional and Australian squash junior competitions prior to 2020 and the Coronavirus.
Progressing through to round two due to a bye, Alarcos made her Games debut on day two with some good rallies against Englishwoman Lucy Turmel, who is seeded fifth in the Games.
Siaguru enjoyed a successful junior tennis career, competing twice in Fiji.
In 2019, he made the switch to playing squash in weekly competitions at the Port Moresby Racquets Club.

Travel restrictions and the cancellation of international competitions over the past two years meant he had been unable to gain international exposure until now.
On day one of the Games, Siaguru debuted as a Team PNG member against New Zealand’s Lwaba Chilese (ranked 90th in the world) on the main glass court.
Lwaba was too good on the night, taking the match 11-4,11-3,11-4.
“We are all looking forward to watching their progress and growth in their next matches during these Games, and the experience they’ll bring back for this month’s Port Moresby Open,” PNG Squash Rackets Federation president Anna Ballinger said.

Loi and Agari aim to step up

TEAM Papua New Guinea’s table tennis pair Geoffrey Loi and Tammi Agari remain focused on delivering results come game day.
For 22-year-old Loi, this is his third appearance in a Commonwealth Games while, at 16 years of age, Agari will step on to the world stage for the first time.
Loi will be competing in the men’s singles and Agari in the women’s singles. They both will then come together for the mixed doubles.
“We didn’t want to waste time as soon as we got here and have been making the most of every opportunity to train,” head coach Rea Loi said.
“We’ve had training sessions against countries like Fiji and Nigeria which is helping us get prepared.
“I’m happy with how things have gone so far.
“Geoffrey and Tammi are motivated and are up for the challenge to bring back results.
“We’ll have the draws done on Monday morning (today) to find out who we’re going up against and we play later the same day.”

Ume, Kaputin lead contingent in opening ceremony

TEAM Papua New Guinea raised the national flag with pride as they marched into Alexander Stadium to the cheers of a 30,000-plus crowd on Thursday night (Friday morning, PNG time).
Leading Team PNG during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom, were boxer John Ume and jumps athlete Rellie Kaputin.
The ceremony welcomed all 72 participating nations and territories in spectacular fashion with cultural performances and fireworks accompanying speeches.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were present, with Prince Charles opening the 22nd edition of the Games open after reading out a message from the Queen contained in the Queen’s baton.
She said the Games “remind us of our connection with one another, wherever we may be in the world, as part of the Commonwealth family of nations”.
More than 5,000 athletes will compete over 10 days across 19 sports with Team PNG taking part swimming, squash, athletics, boxing, table tennis and weightlifting.
Chef de mission Michael Henao said the ceremony had captivated and further inspired Team PNG.
“Rellie and John deserved the honour of leading Team PNG out in front of an amazing crowd, and they did not disappoint,” he said.
“By all accounts, it was a proud moment for every single member of Team PNG.
“PNG, it’s time to fly.
Day one of the Games began on Friday. All the action from the Games can be watched on TVWAN Sports.