“The other night, I watched one of our boys walk over to the Papuan, threw the jab, closed his eyes, covered his face and invited the Papuan to beat him up.”

By Tupuola Terry Tavita

The returning South Pacific Games contingent was told on Thursday by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to set their goals higher.

“The South Pacific Games is just a small gathering of the region. The Olympics is the ultimate.”

Held at the SASNOC office, Tuanaimato, the gathering was to present the gold medal winners their share of government’s sports incentives prize money of $2000 for each gold.

“This is not the time to sit back and relax. Our preparations for the Olympics next year in London starts this afternoon. Now is the time to train, to mentally condition yourselves and to aim for that elusive gold medal next year.”

An Olympic gold, the Prime Minister reminded, will fetch you an instant $100,000 from government.

The Prime Minister also heaped praise on the weightlifting team and their continued success. The team returned 14-gold haul from Noumea.

Boxing – which used to be another gold mine for the country – has slipped in recent years. And this was not lost on the Prime Minister.

“There was once a time when Samoa was king of boxing in the Pacific. When only one or two gold medals would be shared by other country’s while we took the lion’s share. When a Papuan would instantly wet his boxers if he was to fight a Samoan. Now, a Papuan would jump in delight if he is called to fight our boys. We’ve become walkover easy-beats.

“There was a time when a Samoan would walk into the ring, threw the left jab, followed by the straight right, doubled-up with the left hook and finish his opponent with the right cross. What happened to that lethal combination?

The other night, I watched one of our boys walk over to the Papuan, threw the jab, closed his eyes, covered his face and invited the Papuan to beat him up.”

The Prime Minister reminded that the biggest goal haul from boxing was back in 1983 when Samoa hosted the SPG.

“We bagged about nine golds and, I think, I was the president of the boxing association then. So you see, I ‘m also a good boxer. Are there any members of the Opposition there?

The Prime Minister said that if the boxing trainers have run out of ideas, then he is always ready to coach our boxing team.But on a more serious note, Tuilaepa said that sport was now a major emphasis of his government.“In fact it’s been that way for some years now. The sports incentives package is another good idea presented to government by SASNOC back in 2006. Our athletes have to earn some reward money for their efforts. It’s an incentive for them to work hard, train hard, commit to their sport and aim for gold. Silver medals are not rewarded as we do not want our athletes to settle for second-best.”

Share This

About the author

Palemia Ugapo

Related Posts

Samoa’s first swim series takes to the water

BIG SPLASH! Open water swimming takes off in Apia Harbour By Tupuola Terry Tavita Samoa’s inaugural Swim Series will took to the water yesterday, in the first of three days of competition. The series was officially...