Team PNG

At the helm were the flag bearers, John Ume and Rellie Kaputin who led the contingent out proudly in what was a historic night for different reasons.

The opening ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games welcomed 72 nations and territories in spectacular fashion with cultural performances and fireworks accompanying the traditional speeches. 

The team is:
Goalkeeper: Faith Kasiray  
Defenders: Margaret Joseph   Lucy Maino, Olivia Upaupa, Lavina Hola 
Midfield: Rayleen Bauelua, Rumona Morris, Ramona Padio  
Forwards: Marie Kaipu, Meagan Gunemba, Charlie Yanding 

Assistant coach Percy Mataio said the coaching has confidence in the team that should give us something to proud of.

Papua New Guinea athletes in boxing, swimming and squash commenced their competitions on Friday, 29 July in Day 1 of events. 

Boxer, John Ume triumphed over his opponent Elias Bonzo from Malawi at the NEC Hall. Ume won on points to progress on in the Men’s over 60kg-63.5kg (Light Welter) division.

In swimming, Georgia-Leigh Vele cruised through to finish first in Heat 2 of the Women's 50m Breaststroke with a time of 36.51 seconds at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

Any hope Samoa had of pulling off a comeback was then extinguished as Captain Meagan Gunemba fired home a powerful strike from 25 yards to book PNG’s place in Saturday’s final against host nation Fiji, who beat Solomon Islands in the second semis match 3-1.

Gunemba’s two second-half goals, either side of Samoa having a penalty saved, secured the win after Charlie Yanding had given PNG a first-half lead.

While Samoa were intent on playing out from the back, PNG were happy to press them in midfield, continuously winning the ball as a consequence.

The Papua New Guinean boxer joins another Olympian and Commonwealth Games representative, Rellie Kaputin as the female flag bearer to lead Team PNG out at the opening ceremony on Thursday, July 28, in accordance to the Games protocol. 

The PNG Commonwealth Games Association President, Sir John Dawanincura made the announcement during the Welcome Kibung (meet-and-greet) hosted by the PNG community in Birmingham.

The semi final will be the replay of the 2019 Pacific Games gold medal play-off, where PNG won. 
There will be no love lost as the national women’s Coach, Nicola Demaine was the brain behind Samoa’s dream run for gold medal in 2019.

Coach Demaine said all teams have the purpose to attend this tournament to earn a qualification ticket to next stages and PNG is no different.

Her message to the team is to keep their heads, channel their nerves into excitement and play their own game.

Weightlifting Team Manager, Kila Mala has confirmed that weightlifting sensations, Dika Toua and Morea Baru are well into their third training session with four more sessions to go before their competitions start on July 30.

“So far all is going well for the two weightlifters in their training and recovery and we thank all for the support, particularly Head Physiotherapist, Matthew Natusch for all the post recovery work,” Mala said.

In their first team meeting at the Commonwealth Games Village in Birmingham on Sunday, July 24, Chef de Mission, Michael Henao told the athletes, their officials and the management team about the importance of how much bringing back good results from the Games can impact the lives of Papua New Guineans back home and abroad.

Jerome Bunge, David Joe Kaniku, Danny Ten and Nelly Leva were the quadrant who travelled to Ballarat, Australia, and further funding from the Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea has allowed their legacy to continue as most members of the team return to the Continental Championships in Melbourne next week.

Originally, David Kaniku was planning to compete but is no longer able as there were not enough entries in the SH 6 classification. However, the team welcomes a new face onboard – Dorna Longbut.

Head Coach, Nicola Demaine said they are expecting Tonga to be well prepared and organized with quick transition to attack and defense and they are also physically strong.

“We are just taking one game at a time since the start of the tournament. We worked hard to pass the Group stages of the tournament with two wins and are now looking forward for the quarter final on the weekend.