Niue boxer gets home for the first time
The winner of Niue's first Commonwealth Games medal has touched down in Niue for the first time.
The national broadcaster reports boxing bronze medalist, Duken Tutakitoa-Williams arrived in Niue on Monday with his team and coach Lolo Heimuli.
The 23-year-old told RNZ Pacific he was born in New Zealand and had never been to Niue.
Television Niue reports the young boxer is to receive a monetary award for his historic success at the 2022 Birmingham Games, according to the Acting Premier, Sauni Tongatule.
Tonga squeak home in rugby league World Cup opener
Tonga have won their opening game of the Rugby League World Cup, narrowly beating Papua New Guinea's Kumuls by 24 points to 18.
Tonga led 18 to 6 at the break before the Kumuls launched a comeback in the second half.
PNG centre Daniel Russell levelled the score at 18-all with a try in the 67th minute.
But with three minutes left, Tongan second-rower Keanon Koloamatangi chased down a grubber kick to score the winning try.
Koloamatangi commended the Kumuls.
"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. From the get go, we feel the impact from every hit up, from beginning to end. Credit to PNG, there effort shows how much they love their football and how much pride they have in their jersey, and we tried to replicate that. We came over with the win at the end."
Photo: RNZ / Susana Suisuiki
Despite the heartbreaking loss, PNG head coach Stanley Tepend said he is proud of his team's performance.
"They gave it everything, and that's what we spoke about all week in camp about what the jersey meant, and I think the whole country will be proud of their performance, and their families and their team mates."
Basketball's Melanesia Cup held next week
It's the last week of preparation before basketball's 2022 Melanesian Cup.
Hosted in Fiji, the tournament will take place from October 26 to the 29th.
The Cup, which includes men's and women's basketball, serves as a qualifier for the Pacific Games next year for the top two teams.
The Melanesian teams include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.
The Pacific Games then serve as the qualifier for the Oceania region to the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-qualifiers.
The Fiji team has been preparing well for the tournament and believe they are ready to show off to their home crowd.
They narrowly lost to New Caledonia in the 2017 tournament final but bounced back to a bronze medal in the last Pacific Games.
