FOR this set of boxers from Nauru, a training gym was a garage shed back home with a punching bag hanging in the middle.
The five boxers arrived in Suva more than a week ago and were overwhelmed to see the facilities their Fijian counterparts had.
They are gearing up for bouts against Fiji tonight.
“You people have amazing facilities, you have everything you need. The National Fitness Centre has all the requirements for gym work,” said coach Timothy Ika.
“There’s running tracks where the boys have been having a run every morning and it is affordable. The other plus that you guys have on us is that Fiji is able to grow its own food.
“For us we have to import our food. So I think Fiji athletes are very lucky compared with most countries in the Pacific.”
Ika said when he had arrived in Fiji, he was told that Fiji’s amateur boxing had seen better days and boxing was on the low.
“I don’t believe that. With the facilities and athletes Fiji has, I am wondering why Fiji does not have a world champion,” said Ika.
“In Nauru, we have a shed where the national team trains yet we have a Commonwealth gold medallist and an Oceania gold medallist.
“If we had Fiji’s facilities we would be ranked higher in the world.”
Ika said some of the elite Nauru boxers were in Australia but their next trip would see all their boxers come to Fiji because they were unaware Fiji had all the requirements.
The Nauru boxers take on Team Fiji tonight at the National Fitness Centre as the teams test each other for the Pacific Games.
For Nauru they are serious about the Pacific Games and with nine boxers going to Papua New Guinea the aim is a medal in each category.
* Pacific Games coverage courtesy of BSP
