Toua faces early chance of qualifying for Olympics

Sports
Dika Toua

PAPUA New Guinea weightlifting champion Dika Toua faces an early chance of qualifying for the Olympics based on rankings with the 36-year-old mother-of-two likely to appear for her fifth Games in July.
Toua, who competes in the women’s 49kg division, is a strong contender to qualify from Oceania following the deferral of the regional qualifiers.
The Oceania Olympic qualifiers have been rescheduled to August with PNG among other nations in the region waiting for confirmation from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on the dates for the qualifiers.
PNG Weightlifting Federation president Sir John Dawanicura said the IWF and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were yet to confirm the deferred dates, however, it was likely to for the qualifiers to be based on the current rankings.
“Our regional qualification for Oceania is now rescheduled from April to August,” he said.
“We will await further advice from IWF and IOC for the next steps to be taken, most likely to be based on current rankings.”
Meanwhile, the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) says it will be closely following the updates with the IOC with plans in place to have PNG weightlifters in training in preparation for the Olympics.
“We are waiting on advice from the IWF and IOC on alternative arrangements to qualify our lifters which is likely be based on current ranking but this is yet to be confirmed,” PNGOC secretary-general Auvita Rapilla said.
“Regardless of whether or not the athletes qualify for the Olympics, they still have other Games to also prepare for next year, including the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the Pacific Mini Games.”