Team Fiji Taekwondo led, by captain Pranit Kumar, arrived into Apia early yesterday morning with high hopes.

The five-member team is aiming to win gold at the quadrennial event despite facing difficulties during prepration.

The other members of the team are Kitione Mua, Apisai Baleloa, Joseph Otterberch and Sakiusa Tuva.

Kumar said that Fiji sent only three athletes to the last Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea in 2015, with all wining bronze medals.

“We went through a lot of difficulties in our preparation. We always trained outdoor but we are competing indoor.

“Despite that, we are focussed on claiming number one spot,” he said.

“Australia and New Zealand are our biggest rivals and we will go into the games with a positive mind-set.”

The men’s division has eight weight classes each in accordance with the 2019 World Taekwondo classifications.
They include:

• Fin(50kg),
• Fly(54kg),
• Bantam(58kg),
• Feather(64kg),
• Light(70kg),
• Welter(76kg),
• Middle(83kg) and
• Heavy(83+kg).

The competition also has teams events for men’s and women’s.

Taekwondo at the Pacific Games has been contested since 1995 when it was introduced for the tenth edition at Papeete, Tahiti.

Fiji has never won a gold medal since the sport’s introduction.

Edited by Sheldon Chanel

Feedback:  anasilinir@fijisun.com.fj