Madang out to defend title

 By FRANCIS RONDEY PULU

CHAMPIONS Madang Darts Association are in Port Moresby with two teams (men and women) to defend the national title won at home two years ago.

Darius Kombe, tournament director of the host Port Moresby Darts Association, said that for this championship 14 associations from throughout the country had come to compete. The championship started yesterday at the Sports Inn in Waigani and will end before Sept 16.

Newcomers to this championship, Kerema Town Dart Association said they were also in to make their presence feltand give the other teams a run for their money.

Kombe said the last championship was held in Madang two years ago and this time around as it was hosted in the nation’s capital a good turnout was expected and also some new talents would be exposed. Vicepresident of the Madang Dart Association, Grace Belden said they would be defending the overall shield sponsored by Sigma Construction and the ladies shield sponsored by Madang AIDS Council that time.

 “Aswe are the defending champions wetravelled to the nation’scapitalwith nothing in mind but just to defend our titleand take it back home.  “One special thingabout the ladies trophy is that when the ladies were accepted to competeat the national level for the first in we won it for the first time and the ladies are lookingforward to defendingthis. 

“We still have five surviving members of the ladies team and they are looking forward to nothing but to defend it and take it back home,” she said.

The unknown Kerema outfit is here with a simple message: Kerema,yu no save,yu yet kamnalukim. “We are here to also causea few upsets and we will see how things go,” Kerema association president Saki Maeoka said. 

“We have two of our men, RoydenKasau and Peter Duruki, who won bronze medal in the men’s doubles at the PNG Games in Kokopo in 2012and theywill lead the men’s team by their experiences,” Maeoka said.

 He said he has confidence in both the two men’s and the women’s teams to do well at the championship.

Trophy Haus Ltd has donated 48 trophies for the championship awards.

Divisions to be contested are men’s and women’s singles men’s and women’s doubles andthe men’s and women’s have mixed doubles.