Coach happy with karate effort

 Team Papua New Guinea finished with the overall  bronze medal in the 2015 South Pacific Games karate competition after the final matches at  Taurama Aquatic Centre yesterday.

 “It is a team effort and the kids made me proud,” a satisfied team PNG coach Trevor Roberts said.

“I got gold as a host, although we had good challenges from Fiji, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Wallis and Futuna,” Roberts said.

“I did talk to Nigel Bana and the rest of the team before the finals, ‘son, just one gold will put us in the top three, and it did happened,’” he said. From the 21-member PNG karate team, only two missed out on medals. 

Roberts added that the team were looking forward to the Oceania games in Australia and would focus on the basics, balance, discipline, focus, respect, and mostly attitude in the coming months.

He acknowledged those who supported team PNG throughout the two-day competition.

Results: Female Individual Kata-61kg: Kidia Adi Drodrolagi (Fiji Gold) and Catherine Wilson (PNG silver); Female Individual Kumite Open: New Caledonia (Gold), Tahiti (silver), PNG and Vanuatu (bronze); Male Individual Kumite -60kg: PNG (Gold), Fiji (silver), Vanuatu and New Caledonia (bronze); Male Individual Kumite-75kg: Fiji (gold), Tahiti (silver), Vanuatu and New Caledonia (bronze); Male Individual Kumite Open: New Caledonia (gold), Vanuatu (silver), Tahiti and PNG (bronze); 

Karate medal tally: New Caledonia 7 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze; Fiji 7 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze;  PNG 1 gold, 5 silver, 9 bronze; Vanuatu 1 gold, 2 silver, 4, bronze; Tahiti 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze;  Solomon Islands  4 bronze; Wallis & Futuna 1 bronze.