Twenty-year-old Tarona Taafaki has secured Tuvalu's first-ever Commonwealth Games medal. Competing in the women’s 75kg boxing category, Taafaki received a bronze medal despite not winning a fight.
Taafaki, one of five entrants in her category, received a bye to the semi-finals. She then lost on an unanimous points decision to India’s Lovlina Borgohain on Friday. Under Commonwealth Games rules, all boxers eliminated in the semi-finals are awarded bronze medals.
Taafaki expressed pride in representing her country, stating, “I’m very proud and very glad to be able to represent my country on this big stage.” Her coach and father, Badi Taafaki, highlighted the significance of the medal for the nation of 10,000 people, adding that it would help to highlight the climate emergency facing Tuvalu.
Badi Taafaki noted that athletes often train on the island's airport runway due to it being the most stable land mass. Climate experts predict that half of Tuvalu's capital, Funafuti, could be submerged by 2050.