There is hope that the Pacific Island contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be able to win medals in bowling and boxing.
Top Fijii men’s singles player Rajnesh Parasad is the best bet for a medal in the bowls, following his early three round wins so far.
Prasad claimed his first win on Friday morning, when he beat England’s top bowler Sam Tolchard in a tie-break, after the two players were tied 1-1 at the end of two sets.
Tolchard won the prestigious World Singles Champion of Champions title in November 2022 in New Zealand, and claimed the top title at the Bowls World Cup in November 2025.
Prasad then defeated Jamaica’s Robert Simpson 2-0 in clean sets in his second game. He won 12-1 in the first and 6-5 in the second to wrap the game up.
He also claimed his third win on Sunday morning, taking the tie-break against Scotland’s Jason Banks, after the duo had ended the game tied with a set each to their names.
In boxing, male boxers Kiribati’s Eriu Temakau won his men’s 55kg bout in a split-points decisions against Guernsey’s Thomas Teers.
Papua New Guinea’s James Paul also got through his first fight, winning a points decision as well over Bahrains Rashield Williams.
Tonga’s Josh Tonga is the third Pasifika boxer to win his first bout, defeating Trinidad and Tobago’s Jeremiah Thomas in the men’s 80kg division.
The three Pasifika boxers will feature in the Round of 16.
Tonga told the media after his win he was excited and looks forward to his next bout.
“Words can’t explain, the atmosphere is insane, and our team is behind me, coaches, families and friends watching as well, it’s incredible.
“The game plan was to keep my distance, take little wee steps, keeping it simple in general.”
Bowls – Women’s Pairs
Norfolk Islands pair of Ellie Dixon and Christie Jones beat Cook Islands duo Fa’amanatu Vasie Ngatoko-Oila and Teokotai Rahui Jim 2-0, winning 8-3 and 10-1 in both sets.
Cook Islands returned strong in the second game of the weekend, when they defeated Falkland Islands 2-0, winning 8-2 and 8-2 in the two sets.
Norfolk Islands also did the same when they beat the Jersey pair 2-0 in their clash, winning 7-1 and 7-2..
Niue’s Catherine Papani and Christine Ioane lost 2-0 to the Northern Ireland pair of Chloe Wilson and Shauna O’Neill. Northern Ireland won both sets 9-1 and 11-0.
They also lost 2-0 to Singapore, losing both sets 12-4 and 11-2 and went down to Zambia as well.
The Tonga pair of paris Baker and Milika Nathan dropped game two after their first round win, this time losing on tie-break to England. The two teams battled to winning a set each before England took the tie-break 1-0.
They also lost their third game, going down too on tie-break to India in another tight game.
Fijian pair Litia Tikoisuva and Losalini Tukai went down 2-0 to Wales in their second game. Wales won both sets 8-0 amd 5-3.
They did win their next game, beating Kenya 1.5-0.5, claiming the first set 7-2 before the two teams fought to a 5-all draw in the second set.
Bowls – Men’s Singles
Royden Aperau of Cook Islands defeated Taylor Greechan of Jersey in a tie-break. Greechan won the first set 5-4 before Aperau claimed the second 9-2 and then won the tie-break 2-0.
He was unlcuky on Sunday morning when he lost 2-0 to Isle of Man’s Mark McGreal.
But then came back strong to win 2-0 against Guernsey’s Jason Greenslade.
Tonga’s Liam Hall won two games after having lost in the first round, defeating Niue’s Frederrick Tafatu 2-0. Hall won 11-4 and 8-4 to secure a clean record in that game.
He then defeated South Africa’s Wayne Rittmuller in his third game, taking the tie-break in that clash.
Niue’s Tafatu, on the other hand, took New Zealand’s Shannon McIlroy to the wire in their match before losing on tie-break, after both players had claimed a set each in normal play.
However, he lost to Northern Ireland’s Gary Kelly in the tie-break when the two had fought to winning a set each. Kelly took the tie-break 1-0 to claim victory.
Boxing
Fiji’s Ben Maukakala lost his first fight and exited the Games after the referee stopped the contest in round two of his men’s 65kg clash against New Zealand’s Connor Campbell.
Nauru’s Vi-J Tebouwa also suffered a loss against Scotland’s Leo Church in his opening bout of the same division.
However, not all was good for Vanuatu’s Ricksen Nomleas who lost in the first round against England’s Ellis Trowbridge and Solomon Islands’ Clinton Tetekana, who lost to Bangladesh’s Md Rakib Hossan. Both Nomleas and Tetekana were saved by the referee who stpped in to stop their fights.
PNG’s Petronella Nokenoke lost by points to England’s Lucy Kings-Wheatley in the women’s 60kg contest.
On Sunday morning, mixed results were again recorded by Pasifika boxers.
Niue’s Phoenix Gataua lost on points to Botswana’s Treasure Moremi, followed by loses also to Solomon Islands duo Lio Dicks and Max Makana, Fiji’s Jone Davule, Niue’s Kalani Anitelea-Launiu and Samoa’s Dee Ioapo.
3×3 Basketball
In the women’s competition, Fiji defeated Cayman Islands 16-6 in their opening Pool A game but lost 16-14 to Kenya in their second match and Australia 21-3 in their third game.
Tonga beat Scotland 12-10 in their Pool B opener and Papua New Guinea in their third game, but lost 21-8 to New Zealand in their second match.
PNG lost 22-6 to New Zealand and 21-8 to Singapore as well in their Pool G games.
In the men’s competition, the Fiji men’s team lost 21-16 to Malaysia, 21-13 to England but beat Jamaica 21-13 in their three Pool B games.
The Games media said there was a lovely moment from Tongan sisters Mele Finau and Lesila Finau, who helped the Pacific nation to a surprise 12-10 win over hosts Scotland in their opening match of the Women’s 3×3 Basketball, with younger sibling Mele saying:
“She has been my role model for the past 20-something years. It has been great having her by my side and representing our country together. Sibling love can be a bit of tough love at times but it definitely helps on the court.”
Swimming
Cook Islands’ Carter Makira finished sixth in the heat two of the men’s 200 metres individual medley, while Samoa’s Christian Toia was eighth in heat three.
Nafanua Hamilton was placed sixth in the women’s 200m backstroke heats. She also placed eigth in the women’s 200m freestyle.
In the women’s 50 metres butterfly heats PNG pair Jhnayali Tokome-Garap and Roxanne Kirarock finished third and fourth respectively in heat one, while teammate Joanna Chew was fourth in heat two, ahead of Vanuatu’s Loane Russet, who was at fifth spot.
Fiji’s Anahira McCutcheon finished fourth in heat five, while Samoa’s Paige Schendelaar-Kemp was eighth in that heat.
PNG’s Thomas Chan won heat one of the men’s 100m backstroke, while Cook Islands’ Carter Makira was third in heat two, ahead of Fiji’s Don Younger in fourth.
Heat three saw Fiji’s Samuela Yalimaiwai in fifth position while Samoa’s Christian Toia was eighth.
In the men’s 50m freestyle heats, Tonga’s Finau Ohuafi finished first in heat 3 ahead of Vanuatu’s Leo Lebot in second, while Fiji’s Reuben Taylor won heat 4, which also had PNG’s Josh Tarere in fourth and his countryman Thomas Chen in seventh.
Fijian pair David Young and Hansel McCaig both competed in heat 8, with Young finishing second while McCaig was eighth.
The women’s 100m backstroke also saw a number of Pasifika swimmers, which included PNG’s Joanna Chen claiming third in heat one, Samoa’s Hamilton being second in heat two, with Cook Ilands’ Mia Laban at fifth.
Netball
Tonga’s Tala were thrashed 99-38 by Australia in their opening Pool A clash on Saturday night.
New Zealand defeated Scotland 74-44 in their opener.
The Games continue daily until 2 August.
As of 5pm on Sunday (NZT), Australia led the medal tally with 12 gold, five silver and five bronze.
England was second at three gold, seven silver and five bronze, while New Zealand was seventh with two silver and two bronze.
