2015 Commonwealth Youth Games

In athletics, Miriam Peni qualified for the 200m semi-finals in 25.35s.

In a pool of 29 girls and four heats, the top three and the next four with the best times qualified for the semi-finals.

Peni competed against 15 other girls in the semi-finals held at 8:30am (local time) today.

With fellow Team PNG members watching and cheering him on, boxer, Thadius Katua defeated his Zambian opponent in the 60kg bantamweight division quarter final to secure his spot in the semifinal against Samoa.

He will with the Samoan at 6:00pm (local time). 

The country’s flagbearer Vai had an easy game winning all her sets against Samoa,  11-6,11-2 and 11-5.

In another result, Miriam Peni finished 6th in the finals with a season’s best time of 12:38s.

 Beupu Noki lost his first match in boxing while Ryan Maskelyne did a personal best (27:70s) in the 50m butterfly and Savannah Tkatchenko went in at 1:10.46 and did 1:12.48 on the clock.

 In tennis, Matthew Stubbings beat his Fijian rival and Violet Apisah was victorious over Barbados in their first singles round.

Around 2,000 youngsters and teachers featured in the Ceremony, which aimed to reflect the mantra of the Commonwealth Youth Games, such as inspiration and empowerment of young people.

Following a rendition of the Samoan national anthem played by the Police band and a hymn from the Games Choir, the Opening Ceremony began with the Athletes Parade as competitors from the Isle of Man, which hosted the event in 2011, led the 63 nations taking part in the spectacle around the track.