Many young girls grow up with the ambition of seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families, to become shining beacons of inspiration for their siblings and to either rewrite their path of destiny or continue adding onto the chapters of life they have been blessed with.
And for young netballer Akisi Bolakoro, it’s the resolve to never give up and to keep striving for success that has driven her in her long journey towards now donning the Fijian Baby Pearls jumper for the 2025 Netball Youth World Cup in Gibraltar which starts this week.
She is one of six players from the Suva Netball Association that have been selected to represent Fiji in the Baby Pearls team at the Gibraltar outing.
Times Sports spoke to Bolakoro at the Olive Tree restaurant at Damodar City in Suva, where she and her five Suva Netball teammates were treated to lunch by SNA executives following the handover of sports hygiene packs by association sponsors NewWorld IGA Fiji and a handover of envelopes containing funds raised by the association for the six players.
Foray into netball
Bolakoro is 19-years-old, is part of the Tagimoucia Sports Club and a former student of Suva Grammar School.
She hails from the village of Navunievu, Bua with maternal links to Waitabu, Bouma, Taveuni.
She began playing the sport when she was eight-years-old in Nasinu Gospel Primary School.
At that tender age, a child’s understanding of sports at a competitive level, from off the court or field, is elevated further by their participation, something she says made her happy.
“When I attended Nasinu Gospel Primary School, I first started off there for netball. I played until where I am today,” Bolakoro recalled.
“I felt happy because it was my first time playing the sport.”
Over the years, as her understanding of the sport’s intricate rules and regulations grew and so too her passion for pursuing it even further.
“I was having a lot of fun with my friends while playing,” she said.
“I really made a lot of friends coming from primary school, secondary school, club games.”
Call-up for Baby Pearls
The road to Gibraltar for the Fiji Baby Pearls netball team has been a long and winding one, and for Bolakoro, she needed to get herself into a state of intense preparations against other players who were wanting to make the cut for Gibraltar too.
Playing the positions of centre and wing attack meant her skills were indispensable however she had to prove to national selectors she had what it took to earn the call-up for the Baby Pearls.
Having to go up alongside her fellow club mates or players from other clubs meant walking with knowing some of them would stay and some of them would go.
And the feeling of elation at knowing her hard work paid off immensely came through when she was notified of her selection.
“I got an email from our coach that I made it to the squad,” she shared in a recent interview.
“I feel so blessed and excited being chosen to represent the country. I’m so glad I made it to the under-21s (Baby Pearls).”
She added how reaching that plateau of definite selection felt like for her and what it took to get there.
“I was really happy because it was really hard for me to come up to where I am today.
“It was quite a tough journey, trying to fight for that spot.”
At times when she would get overwhelmed with the high expectations of training and the thought of seeing it all the way through to the end, she wanted to cut it short.
“Some of the challenges I faced was – I wanted to give up halfway, and then my parents kept encouraging me to keep on going until I reached my goal,” she explained.
As she said this, her eyes gradually watered as she looked up to the ceiling of the restaurant to ward off the tears as she continued to explain how her parents were her biggest support system.
“They’ve always motivated me,” she said of her parents.
“When I wanted to give up, they encouraged me to always come and give my best, because one day, all my hard work will be paid off.”
She recalled her parents being elated at her selection when news of it came around.
“They were actually happy because they always believed that I would someday make it to the team.”
In a story of renewed faith, hope and love showered by her doting parents, her selection into the Baby Pearls makes her one of seven locally-based players picked for the team.
Bolakoro and five others from Suva Netball plus a player from the Nasinu netball fraternity make up the seven picked with the remainder of the team being overseas based players.
Reflecting on her selection and those of her six other Fiji-based teammates, she said the process was not an easy one.
“It was not really easy because we were really in a competition where we had to fight for a spot.
“Everybody was good and we really had to fight our way up until we got our spot.”
The end goal – the big picture
The 2025 Netball Youth World Cup kicks off in Gibraltar this Friday and will end on Sunday, September 28.
In a player profile of the Baby Pearls for Netball Fiji, Bolakoro said a key element of consideration in her pursuit of reaching her goals was the awareness of the presence of a bigger picture.
“What kept me motivated was remembering the bigger picture and the goals I wanted to achieve,” she told Netball Fiji.
“I thought about how far I had already come and didn’t want to waste the effort I had put in.
“I also reminded myself of the people who believed in me and supported me, which gave me the strength to push through.
“Most importantly, I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable.”
Part of what has really pushed her towards ensuring she earned the call-up for the nation was the long path on which she had prepared with her teammates.
“I’ve been training. We’ve all been training for two years now, I didn’t want to waste all the effort that I’ve made,” she told Times Sports.
“That’s why I kept on going until the very moment that we were chosen.”
Akisi’s word of advice
The Navunievu, Bua lass joins the ranks of other netball players in Fiji who began their dominance and prominence in the sport through the Baby Pearls and with a new star added to her teeming and active shoulders, she had a firm message for the young players following in her footsteps.
“My advice to our young netballers is to always keep trying your best and to never give up and always give it your best because one day all your hard work will be paid off,” she said.
A key part of pursuing that journey, which has seen itself play out in the case of her and her teammates, is the support of their families and loved ones.
“We’ve been motivated by our parents and each other because we always have each other’s back, and to never give up because if one backs down, we always keep encouraging each other.”
Bolakoro’s story exemplifies the human spirit and its unwavering determination to attain success against all odds, with a support system that knows no bounds at every step of the way.
Fiji Baby Pearls netball player Akisi Bolakoro poses for the camera during a lunch organised by Suva Netball Association executives at the Olive Tree restaurant at Damodar City in Suva on Thursday, September 11, 2025. Picture: LITIA RITOVA
