Dika Toua

Dika Toua hopeful of snatching Games medal for PNG

Toua will be in action at the Games in the women's 53kg category at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England.

Weightlifting will begin its competition on Saturday local time.

"My aim is to do my best and hopefully win a medal, that is the number one priority going into this competition," Toua, who win silver in 2018, told the Post Courier.

"Whether I win a silver or a gold medal, it doesn't matter, the biggest thing is winning and making my family and the nation proud of my achievement."

Toua in training camp

PNG’s pocket dynamo is undergoing a training camp to fine-tune her preparations for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

42 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games gold medallists are in a special training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore, New Caledonia, in preparation for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast from the 4th to 16th April. 

The 20 institute lifters plus the top lifters of Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand will be training together for a 10-day period.

Aussie champ admires Dika and PNG

The Australian weightlifter told Loop PNG that it is her "first time to win against her (Dika)’’.

Yamasaki is the new 53kg Pacific Games champion after winning two gold medals and PNG golden girl Dika Toua won one.

Dika failed to lift a bar in the snatch, shocking the nation of fans.

The 53kg champion said she did not see Dika's lift as she was concentrating on her own lift.

"I was sad for Dika at the same time," referring to Dika's failure to make a lift in the snatch.

Our golden lifter confident of more gold

The golden girl of PNG weightlifting arrived back in the country this afternoon from New Caledonia after spending the last three months training at the Weightlifting Institute there.

Toua will be competing in the 53kg weight division and said she is “definitely going for gold” but expects a strong challenge from Australia and New Zealand female weightlifters.

“I will be doing my best and let the result come.”