Volleyball lauds retired rep Kilarupa

THE PNG Volleyball Federation has applauded the services of national men’s beach volleyball representative Richard Kilarupa who retired last week.
PNGVF president Kila Dick said it was sad to see the 32-year-old from Hula in Central retire after contributing a lot to the sport of beach volleyball.
“It’s sad to see him go because he has had an excellent beach volleyball career,” Dick said.
“Although he was playing indoor volleyball before he made the transition to beach volleyball in 2013, within a space about five years, he has done a lot for us and we at the PNG Volleyball Federation are happy about his contributions.
“His movement from indoor to beach saw a lot of influence in the sport of beach volleyball although both sports come under the PNG Volleyball Federation.
“He helped PNG win gold medal in beach volleyball in the 2015 Pacific Games and in the Mini Pacific Games last year.
“His achievements show that kind of calibre Richard has as an athlete for Team PNG and I am sure he has influenced other upcoming athletes to follow his footsteps.
“It’s sad for our beach volleyball team but it was his decision and we respect that.
“Now we have someone in place to take up his place, and it is a big gap that has to be filled after he announced his retirement.
“We believe that Rollie Forova is a suitable replacement to team up with Moha Mea for our elite men’s beach volleyball team.
“Rollie has been around and last year he attended training camps with the team so we reckon that Rollie can step in and do a good job in place for the retired Kilarupa.
“His contribution is recognised and definitely we will still need him as someone who can provide advice to young players coming through,” Dick said.