Boxer didn’t win any fights at the Commonwealth Games. He still left with a
Twenty-year-old Tarona Taafaki has secured Tuvalu’s first ever Commonwealth Games medal in Glasgow despite not winning a single fight.
Competing in the women’s 75kg division, which only have five entrants, Taafaki was guaranteed at least a bronze as she was given a bye directly into the semi-finals.
She lost her opening bout on Friday to India’s Lovlina Borgohain, with judges unanimously scoring every round against her.
But as per competition rules, both semifinal losers were awarded bronze medals.
Her coach and father stated the medal would be celebrated by the population of the 10-square-mile nation – the world’s fourth smallest – and serve to highlight a climate change emergency.
Badi Taafaki, whose son Pasoni also competed earlier in the Games, losing his opening bout at 70kg earlier this week, told the Press Association: “For the people of Tuvalu, this medal means everything.
“We’re one of the smallest nations in the world, so a medal like this is hugely significant. We have worked so hard to get here. For me as a coach, it’s a stepping stone.”
Tarona and Pasoni are the two oldest of eight children, all of whom are boxers. They are currently based in New Zealand, in order to take advantage of better facilities.
“When I was growing up, boxing barely existed in Tuvalu,” said Badi. “We didn’t have gloves, so we were forced to fight bare-knuckle, and hit bags filled with sand.
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“My children have very fortunate. They have opportunities and facilities that I never had. Boxing is our whole life. Strength is in our bloodline. It’s where our genealogy comes from.”
Athletes on the island famously train on its airport runway, the most stable land mass on an island increasingly threatened by rising sea levels. Climate experts predict half of the nation’s capital, Funafuti, could be submerged by 2050.
“Yes, we train on the airport runway,” said Taafaki. “When a plane comes in, everyone moves aside. As soon as it leaves, we go back on the tarmac, because there is nowhere else to train.
“If we can win medals, more people around the world will recognise Tuvalu and begin to understand the challenges we face because of climate change.
“It is very real for us. The coastal erosion is unbelievable, and the countdown is now measured in years, not decades.
“Some islands have lost half their land. At high tide the sea comes right through. People living on the coast can’t sleep if there’s a storm, because the waves can come straight through their homes.”
Taafaki has big ambitions for his children, and for the future of the sport in Tuvalu. It was officially confirmed as a full member of World Boxing in 2024, allowing its boxers to fight in competitions organised by the Oceania Boxing Confederation.
“The biggest thing we are missing is the exposure,” added Taafaki. “You can only improve by fighting world class fighters. But we would like to go to the Olympics. The Olympics are the pinnacle of the sport, and that’s what all these kids are working towards.”
Taafaki is not the first boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal without winning a fight. Australia’s Taylah Robertson picked up a bronze in the women’s flyweight category on the Gold Coast in 2018 despite losing her first bout to England’s Lisa Whiteside.
