Fijians erupted in celebration yesterday, setting off flares and dancing in the streets, while a national holiday was declared after the tiny nation won its first ever Olympic medal — and gold at that.
The South Pacific island nation came to a standstill at the start of the rugby sevens final against Great Britain and by halftime the fireworks had started and there was a monumental chorus of car horns as it became evident Fiji would win and create history.
“This is the biggest day in Fiji’s history. Everyone is celebrating,” said photographer Feroz Khalil, who watched the final on a big screen at the main stadium in Suva. “It was crazy. There were people chanting, crying, tears were flowing. I’m feeling so happy.”
Photo: AP
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who was in Rio de Janeiro to watch the final, announced there would be a public holiday on Aug. 22, the day after the team are to arrive home.
In a message to the nation Bainimarama said “every Fijian is rejoicing” around the world.
“Never before has the Fijian spirit soared so high as it does today,” he said. “Never have we stood so tall as a nation.”
Fiji Rugby Union chief executive John O’Connor told reporters that nearly all of Fiji’s 900,000 residents would have gathered around television sets in the 110 populated islands to watch the event.
“Everyone is very excited. Wherever there was a TV in a village, there were people gathered round,” O’Connor said. “There were about 2,000 people packed in the main stadium watching the game on the big screen.”
“Some people may go to work now, but I don’t think they will be very productive,” he said.
Many who did go to work finished early to join the festivities as the blue Fijian flag flew proudly from homes, businesses and vehicles.
Fiji scored first after just 55 seconds, led 29-0 at halftime and finished up thrashing Great Britain by an emphatic 43-7.
“By the time it was halftime, people were already celebrating. It was amazing,” Khalil said.
Traffic was gridlocked in Suva, where the streets were filled with people singing and dancing. In the rugby-obsessed nation, the gold-medal victory was also seen as a chance to put behind them the memories of four coups over the past 30 years of political upheaval.
“The win was truly a historic moment for Fiji,” said Shailendra Singh, a former sports journalist and now head of journalism at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. “The sevens game is more than a game in Fiji and it is a major unifying force.”
“The entire nation, young, old, men, women, children and adults and people from across the political divide will come together in celebration,” Singh said.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was