Big year for sports

By HENRY MORABANG
SPORTS vice-minister Wesley Raminai has predicted 2018 as another challenging year for Papua New Guinea’s sportsmen and women and urged them to maintain the standards set and to strive for excellence.
Raminai urged sportsmen and women to be mindful of whatever they do in preparations for the hectic 2018 sports calendar which will see not only another potentially exciting season with the SP PNG Hunters looking to defend their Intrust Super Cup title along with the burgeoning Digicel Cup season but Team PNG taking part in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.
The Kagua-Erave MP called on the sports fraternity not to lose focus on what their objectives were and encouraged sports men and women at all levels to keep working hard and to set goals and get value and meaning from their endeavours.
“There are challenges in life we must do our best to navigate but those are realities we are faced with and we must maintain a positive attitude instead of being negative which is detrimental in the personal development of a person,” Raminai said.
He said the primary focus of PNG Olympic Committee was the preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
The PNGOC is working to ensure they send the best group of athletes who have the potential to produce positive results and win medals.
Apart from the Gold Coast Games, PNG Swimming will host the Oceania Swimming Championships in Port Moresby.
PNG’s next generation of swimmers have the challenge of taking up the mantle left by Ryan Pini. Hockey will for the first time host an international event in Port Moresby.
PNG Hockey president Kaluwin Potuan said the Oceania Under-20 championships had attracted Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands and host PNG.
In netball, president Julianne Leka-Maliaki said 2018 was going to be a “very busy and exciting” year for the sport while outlining their priorities which include preparation for the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in Auckland, New Zealand, the staging of their national championships and the implementation of their player development programme.
In soccer, the sport’s major events remain the National Soccer League (NSL) plus the Besta Cup as well as the visit of the World Cup to PNG.
The Football Federation of PNG outlined their calendar which starts off their NPL Champions League in February (17-23) where the top four teams from Northern and Southern Conference playoff with the final on March 24 in Port Moresby.
Weightlifting continues to be a major player on the regional and world stage with PNG lifters on target to win medals on the Gold Coast.
Rugby union has something to celebrate in the New Year with the men’s (Pukpuks) and the women’s (Palais) teams qualifying for Sevens World Cup in 2018.