Australia wins six golds on final day of boxing
Australia dominated the final bouts of the Sol2023 Pacific Games boxing competition at Honiara’s Friendship Hall on Saturday.
Out of the total 11 bouts held on the on the closing day, athletes from the ‘land down under’ scooped six gold medals.
Australia’s gold medallists and Pacific Games champions were:
- Yusuf Chothia (Men’s 51kg Flyweight)
- Monique Suraci (Women’s 50kg Light Flyweight)
- Tina Rahimi (Women’s 57kg Feature weight)
- Harry Garside (Men’s 63.5kg Light Welterweight)
- Teremoana Teremoana (Men’s 92+kg Super Heavyweight)
- Shannan Davey (Men’s 71kg Light Middleweight)
Also making appearances on the podium on Saturday were Raphael Dauphin of Tahiti who defeated favourite Joshua O’oku of Solomon Islands in the welterweight division, Duken Williams of Niue who defeated Gabriel Dauphin of Tahiti, Hereani Temarono, also of Tahiti, defeating Lulu Tupoloa of Samoa and a battle between PNG boxers Angelyn Kadiu and Grace Sabou, which the latter won convincingly.
Sabou edged out her compatriot Kadiu 3-2 on points in the Women’s 52kg Flyweight taking her straight to the podium to receive her gold medal.
“I am happy to win the gold. My dreams have come true and I thank God for giving me the strength. I dedicate my gold medal to my two kids back home in Bougainville,” an emotional Sabou said.
As the Sol2023 boxing competition also coincided with the Oceania qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, winners simultaneously booked their tickets to France.
By Steven Kamoa, Pacific Games News Service
