The Fiji Times

Support shown towards women ‘promising’

The Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL) women’s competition will commence this Saturday and FNRL chairperson Aporosa Lutunauga said the support shown towards the growth of the sport for women is promising. “The tournament will begin proper on June 3 and there has been a lot of support shown to the competition by FNRL and the...

Breaking barriers | Australia backs FNRL Women’s Premiership competition

Australia is proud to partner with the National Rugby League and Fiji National Rugby League to support the FNRL Women’s Premiership competition. Australian Chargé d’Affaires, Stuart Watts thanked the officials for always supporting and developing women in the sport of rugby league. “I would like to thank the FNRL, NRL, coaches, staff, administrators and, of...

Stage set for championship

GM Motors sponsored 52nd Fiji Golf Open Championship is set to begin at the Denarau Golf & Racquet Club (DGRC) from tomorrow and will finish on Sunday. The event hosted by Golf Fiji and Fiji PGA would be played both in the men’s and women’s divisions and has attracted over 170 participants from both Fiji...

Champ returns to compete

NEW Zealand-based former national golf rep Anuresh Chandra is back home and would be competing at the 52nd Fiji Golf Open Championship beginning tomorrow at the Denarau Golf and Racquet Club (DGRC). The champion golfer, who is making a return to the competition after a lapse of seven years, is aware of the huge challenge...

Times farewell Pau

The Fiji Times Sports Reporter Paulini Curuqara called it a day at the Times yesterday. Having covered hundreds of sporting events at her time with the company for nearly seven years, an emotional Paulini could not hold back her tears sharing her journey at a farewell function hosted by the company in Suva yesterday. “It...

Committee pleased with commitment

With the Ram Sami Nasinu Rugby Football Union club competition coming to an end, committee member Akuila Rokobuli is pleased with the level of commitment shown by clubs within its union for this season. “We only have 11 clubs within our union taking part in the weekly competitions,” said Rokobuli. “We’ve completed our round-robin competitions...

Silktails eye home victories

The Kaiviti Silktails are aiming to get back-to-back wins at home, when they face Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs this Saturday at Churchill Park in Lautoka. Silktails head coach Wes Naiqama said another big game awaits them this weekend and the players would give their best to get the full two points. “We turned it around last...

Fijiana qualify for World 15s

The Vodafone Fijiana 15s has qualified for World 15s after winning its opening two matches at the Rugby Women’s Championship in Australia. The Fijiana, which thrashed Tonga 45-12, in its second match on Tuesday night, qualified alongside Samoa. The final will decide whether we compete in Tier 2 or 3 at the World 15 tournament....

Company extends sponsorship deal

The major sponsor of Fijian Drua side- Swire Shipping announced the extension of its support as exclusive naming rights sponsor for a further two years yesterday. According to Swire Shipping regional manager for Pacific Islands Alex Pattison said this partnership reinforces Swire Shipping’s longstanding commitment to the communities of Fiji and to aid the development...

Association aims high in national competitions

Just four weeks after reviving their association, Naitasiri Netball has set their focus on the national competitions. The Naitasiri men’s team took part in the Men’s National Championship on May 19-20, while their women’s senior team played their FinanceHub round one opener against Lautoka last weekend at the FMF Gymnasium. They have successfully initiated weekly...

‘He is going to get knocked-out’

Fijian boxer Nathan Singh has only two things on his mind. First and foremost is knocking ni-Vanuatu boxer Masing Warawara out on Saturday, June 10 at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva and second is “shutting a lot of people’s mouths”. “I have prepared well. It’s just a few days away and I’m really looking forward...

Teams gear up for league

The five teams competing in the inaugural OFC Women’s Champions League in Papua New Guinea, including the Digicel Labasa women’s team, received a warm welcome at the official pre-tournament cocktail function at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium on Tuesday night. The teams mixed and mingled with each other before hearing from keynote speakers, including PNGFA President...

Pressure mounts | Make-or-break moment for Fijian Drua in playoff push

The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua side is focusing on what is within its control as it prepares for the much important clash against the Reds in the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific this Saturday. Assistant coach Brad Harris said the team is not distracted by the pressure of losing out on a spot in...

State of Origin: Blues blunders put Brad Fittler in firing line after Queensland heroics

Brad Fittler will have 80 minutes to coach for his job behind enemy lines after the Blues’ game one gambles backfired in the face of one of the gutsiest Queensland victories in State of Origin history. The Maroons finished the contest with 12 men on the field and players being added to the casualty ward...

Lyon’s Aouar gets first Algeria call-up after switch from France

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Olympique Lyon’s Houssem Aouar has been called up to the Algeria squad for the first time ahead of games against Uganda and Tunisia, the national football association said on Tuesday. The 24-year-old midfielder played one game for France – a friendly against Ukraine in 2020 – before switching allegiance to Algeria, where...

Galatasaray clinch 23rd Turkish league title

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish giants Galatasaray claimed their 23rd league title on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Ankaragucu in their penultimate match of the season, with a double from Mauro Icardi and further goals from Baris Alper Yilmaz and Sergio Oliveira. It was the first time the Istanbul club have claimed the league title since...

Bolt desperate for impactful role in track and field

By Janina Nuno Rios MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Usain Bolt said he is desperate to play a role in reviving the sport that made him a global superstar but has experienced something of a decline since his retirement six years ago. The Jamaican, who dominated men’s sprinting for nearly a decade after the 2008 Beijing...

Swire Shipping extends naming rights sponsorship of Fijian Drua

Swire Shipping has announced the extension of its exclusive naming rights sponsorship of the Fijian Drua for a further two years. “We are delighted to extend our partnership with the Fijian Drua for two more years,” Swire Shipping’s Regional Manager for the Pacific Islands Alex Pattison said in a statement. “As a longstanding supporter of...

Understand the roles

The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) Athletes Commission outgoing chairperson Hilda Kunau is adamant that new members of the commission will understand their roles and responsibilities. The commission, last weekend held its general elections during the 2023 FASANOC Athletes’ Commission forum which was attended by athlete representatives from 17 national federations...

Nute out to restore Suva’s lost glory

The Suva Rugby Union is ready for this year’s Skipper Cup competition and head coach Solomoni Nute said his players had been preparing well for the past few weeks. Nute said they aimed to restore the lost glory and stamp their mark in local rugby. “We have been preparing well for the past four weeks,”...

Lautoka golfers celebrate in style

The Ratu Sukuna Holiday celebration two men 18 holes stroke Ambrose event, sponsored by Green Mowing & Landscaping of Sydney, registered two winners at the Lautoka Golf Club course on Monday. Veteran journalist and former Nadi and national football rep, Maika Kasami teamed up with seasoned bowler Mohammed Shariff netted 62 to win their first-ever...

Overcoming rugby and school work

Trying to balance rugby and school work is no easy feat but with determination and good time management, everything is possible. This is the message 23-year-old Jason Iakoba would like to share with young rugby players in the country. The young lad from Rabi with maternal links to Nasinu, Cakaudrove ran out at second-five eighth...

Fiji Open receives massive boost

Tennis players competing at the Tattslotto Fiji Tennis Open will battle for the top prizemoney of $500. Tennis Fiji received a $15,000 boost from Tattslotto Fiji yesterday. The tournament has attracted 110 participants, six categories with 41 events that will start today at the Denarau Golf and Racquet Club. Tennis Fiji vice-president Yash Patel confirmed...

Love runs deep | Covert follows volleyball dream

Harvey Oswald Covert’s love for volleyball runs so deep that even being shunned by national selectors, failed to dampen his spirit. The Namaka, Nadi resident is 22 years old and has been actively engaged in the sport since he was 10. Even though the powers that he has, have not given him the nod to...

Last game to be a cracker

The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua players will need to back themselves up and play footy to fulfill their top 8 target from the start of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific this season. And that’s what the season plan from the coaches coming down on the pitch every day. With a good coaching staff,...

Derenalagi calls for Drua fans to come out in numbers

Swire Shipping Fijian Drua skipper Meli Derenalagi is calling out to the people of Fiji to come out in numbers and support the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua side when they take on the Reds in their last home game in Fiji this weekend. The Fijian Drua players will have another shot at qualifying for the...

Moce mada Noa | Friends bid farewell

Known by those she was close to as ‘Noa’, dad Tevita Kunatuba in an emotional service filled with players from rugby background, said he raised a tough and determined Elenoa. Following a dream about women’s rugby and a vision to change perspectives and mindsets, Tevita said his daughter, no matter the obstacles she faced or...

‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia’, Djokovic writes at French Open

By Julien Pretot and Shrivathsa Sridhar PARIS (Reuters) -Serbian world No. 3 Novak Djokovic risked stirring up a political controversy at the French Open on Monday, after writing a message about Kosovo on a camera lens following his first-round victory. “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” 22-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic wrote...

Peaty looking forward to Paris 2024 after mental health break

(Reuters) – Triple Olympic swimming champion Adam Peaty said he took a break from the sport to halt his “endless search” for rewards but the Briton hopes he will be in a better mindset at the Paris Games next year. Peaty said in March that he was tired and not enjoying swimming as much as...

Sport

2nd June

From the Editor-in-Chief’s desk: Your June 2 briefing

1st June