Four get Games nod

TWO weightlifters and a pair of table tennis players have qualified for Team Papua New Guinea to this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
They are Commonwealth Games weightlifting silver medalists Dika Toua and Morea Baru, and table tennis pair Geoffrey Loi and Tammy Agari.
The Commonwealth Games Federation confirmed that the four athletes had qualified through the regional qualification process.
Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, weightlifting and table tennis were not able to stage their Oceania qualifying competitions and instead saw their respective international federations resort to rankings to confirm qualifications spots for the respective sports.
“With less than 120 days to go, it is exciting to have four athletes qualify for the Commonwealth Games,” PNG Olympic Committee secretary-general Auvita Rapilla said.
“Having these athletes qualify will help them focus on their preparations and work towards achieving their goals for the Games.”
Oceania champion Toua, 37, will look to go a step further and claim gold in her fifth appearance in the Commonwealth Games.
Toua will compete in the women’s 48kg category while Baru, who will take part in the men’s 61kg, will look to defend the silver medal he had won in the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast.
The pair are in Melbourne, Australia, along with their coach Willie Tamasi, training under long-time mentor and coach Paul Coffa.