There were two medals for Pacific Island athletes on the final day of competition at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
In judo, Tonga’s Paula Monta beat Canada’s John Messe A Bessong for a bronze medal in the men’s +100kg category – Tonga’s only medal.
The Tonga Judo Association said Monta held off a determined comeback from the Canadian to secure victory by the narrowest of margins – winning on one waza-ari and two yuko to one waza-ari and one yuko.
“This medal caps off an incredible day for Paula, who battled through the repechage to earn his place in the bronze medal contest before rising to the occasion when it mattered most,” the association said.
“The Tonga Judo Association also extends its heartfelt congratulations to Coach Josateki Naulu, whose dedication and commitment in preparing Paula over the past several months in Japan have been instrumental in this historic success.”
Monta beat Alexander Quilindo (Seychelles) in the round of 16 to book his place in the quarter-finals. He lost to Kody Andrews from New Zealand in the quarter-finals but went into the repechage, where quarter-final losers get a second chance to fight for bronze.
In the repechage, he defeated Joshua Whitehouse from Wales.
It is Tonga’s first Commonwealth Games medal since 2010.
Meanwhile, Norfolk Island’s Shae Wilson picked up a bronze in the women’s lawn bowls.
Wilson beat Malaysian bowler Emma Saroji two sets to nil – winning both sets 8-5.
The 27-year-old has Norfolk Island’s only medal in Glasgow.
Norfolk Island’s Shae Wilson picked up a bronze in the women’s lawn bowls.
Norfolk Island Bowling Club
“I know there’s been a lot of people following along so that means the world, and it makes us be able to achieve these kind of things,” she told the Norfolk Island Bowling Club.
Goodbye to Glasgow
The Pacific ended the Glasgow Games with 10 medals, including two gold.
The weightlifting arena was a happy hunting ground for Pacific athletes, providing six of the region’s medals.
This includes gold medals to Samoa’s Seine Stowers and Fiji’s Taniela Rainibogi.
Fiji’s Jasmine Daunakamakama and Tuvalu’s Tarona Khanum Badi Pasoni Taafaki got bronze medals in the boxing ring.
At the end of the Games, Australia topped the medal table with 70 gold medals and 171 altogether, followed by England (29 gold, 110 total) and Canada (19 gold, 62 total), while New Zealand was in sixth place, with 10 gold and 36 medals overall.
Samoa’s gold and silver saw them finish 17th-equal on the medal table, with Fiji 20th-equal, Nauru 33rd-equal, and Norfolk Island, PNG, Tonga and Tuvalu 36th-equal, alongside six other nations with a sole bronze medal.
The closing ceremony brings down the curtain on the Glasgow Games on Monday morning.
