First team arrive in Tokyo

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE first group of the Team Papua New Guinea contingent for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and settled in at the Olympic village with three more days before the opening ceremony.
The group of five, who left Port Moresby on Saturday, included Pacific gold medallist John Ume, coach Mark Keto, chef de mission Tamzin Wardley and the team management.
Sailing siblings Teariki and Rose-Lee Numa, weightlifters Dika Toua and Morea Baru arrived in Tokyo last Wednesday from Australia while swimmers Ryan Maskelyne and Judith Meauri arrived on Thursday.
Jumper Rellie Kaputin is the only one of the eight athletes who will be travelling to Tokyo next week.
From the team, Ume will be making his debut in the lightweight division, having qualified through the tripartite invitation.
Ume has previous experience in representing PNG abroad in the Pacific Mini Games, Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa.