Fiji and Tuvalu Boxers Win Commonwealth Games Bronze After Semifinal Losses
Both Pacific boxers lost semifinal bouts, and boxing awards bronze to losing semifinalists, lifting the islands' medal tally to eight.
- On Friday, Tuvalu's Tarona Taafaki and Fiji's Jasmine Daunakamakama secured bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow despite losing their semifinal bouts, consistent with tournament regulations awarding both semifinal losers podium finishes.
- Coached by her father Badi Taafaki, Tarona trains on an airport runway in their 10-square-mile home nation, though the family resides in New Zealand to access superior training facilities for their boxing careers.
- Highlighting a climate change emergency, Badi Taafaki noted the medal draws attention to the tiny South Pacific nation, where rising sea levels threaten to submerge half of Funafuti by 2050 amid coastal erosion.
- "Me being able to get a bronze at the Commonwealth Games should inspire other Tuvaluans," Tarona said, hoping the recognition helps the world understand her nation's specific challenges while encouraging fellow citizens to pursue ambitions.
- Beyond these Games, the family aims to qualify for the Olympics, which Badi Taafaki describes as the "pinnacle of the sport," believing increased exposure is necessary to compete against world-class fighters.
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Tarona Taafaki: Boxer lands Tuvalu's first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a fight
Taafaki was given a bye to the last four of the women's 75kg division. Despite losing her semi-final bout, boxers reaching that stage receive a bronze medal under Commonwealth Games rules.
Boxer lands country's first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a fight
A boxer from the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu has won her country’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a fight. Source link : https://news.sky.com/story/tarona-taafaki-boxer-lands-tuvalus-first-commonwealth-games-medal-without-winning-a-fight-13569045 Author : Publish date : 2026-08-01 15:15:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
Tuvaluan boxer medals at Games in national first
A boxer from Tuvalu earned her South Pacific nation’s first ever Commonwealth Games medal without winning a fight on Friday.Tarona Taafaki lost her only bout in the women’s 75kg class to India’s Lovlina Borgohain, losing every round on all three of the judges’ cards.Because there were only five entr
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