PNG’s weightlifting specialist, Dika Toua, is among 42 other Pacific Mini Games gold medallists in a special training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia.
PNG’s pocket dynamo is undergoing a training camp to fine-tune her preparations for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
42 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games gold medallists are in a special training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore, New Caledonia, in preparation for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast from the 4th to 16th April.
The 20 institute lifters plus the top lifters of Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand will be training together for a 10-day period.
Of the lifters taking part in this elite training camp at the Institute, quite a number of them are ranked first and second in the Commonwealth.
Some of them will be trying to win back-to-back gold on the Gold Coast, including PNG’s very own Dika Toua in the women’s 53kg division.
Toua was the gold medallist from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and she is now going for back-to-back gold.
In the men’s 62kg, Morea Baru from PNG is the number one lifter in the Commonwealth in this category. He is a favourite to win gold at the Gold Coast games.
In the men’s 94kg division, Steven Kari is looking to win back-to-back gold as well but he will need a lot more work to get there, judging from his Vanuatu Mini Games performance.
This elite training camp is financially supported by the IWF.