Double Success For Papua New Guinea In Oceania Championships

Papua New Guinea celebrated a double triumph in the Oceania Championships in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands when top seeds Derek Hunter and Naluge Guy struck gold in the individual events.

Australian-born Hunter sailed through to the men's final without dropping a game, beating Samoa's fourth seed Nia Tupuivao 9-1 9-1 9-1 in the semi-finals.

His opponent in the final pulled off two upsets to reach the climax. After a 9-6 9-2 9-1 rout over second-seeded compatriot Gye Duncan in the quarters, New Caledonia's seventh seed Laurent Guepy battled to a 2-9 9-3 7-9 9-7 9-5 upset over Papua New Guinea's No3 seed Damien Tam in the semi-finals.

Hunter was too strong for Guepy in the final, however, winning 10-8 9-6 9-6.

The women's final saw the top two seeds fighting for the title. But after losing the first game, Naluge Guy came back to topple the hosts' second seed Tepua Russell 8-10 9-2 9-0 9-6.

Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Derek Hunter (Papua New Guinea) bt [8] Gregory Corigliano (New Caledonia) 9-6, 9-3, 9-3
[4] Nia Tupuivao (Samoa) bt Lokes Brooksbank (Papua New Guinea) 9-2, 9-3, 9-2
[3] Damien Tam (Papua New Guinea) bt [6] William Rankin (Samoa) 9-1, 9-4, 10-8
[7] Laurent Guepy (New Caledonia) bt [2] Gye Duncan (New Caledonia) 9-6, 9-2, 9-1

Semi -finals:
[1] Derek Hunter (Papua New Guinea) bt [4] Nia Tupuivao (Samoa) 9-1, 9-1, 9-1
[7] Laurent Guepy (New Caledonia) bt [3] Damien Tam (Papua New Guinea) 2-9, 9-3, 7-9, 9-7, 9-5

Final:
[1] Derek Hunter (Papua New Guinea) bt [7] Laurent Guepy (New Caledonia) 10-8, 9-6, 9-6

Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Naluge Guy (Papua New Guinea) bt [8] Cathy Ben (Cook Islands) 9-0, 9-0, 9-2
[4] Eli Webb (Papua New Guinea) bt [5] Cynthia Tahuhuterani (New Caledonia) 9-4, 9-6, 10-8
[3] Christine Jean (New Caledonia) bt Imong Brooksbank (Papua New Guinea) 9-6, 3-9, 9-0, 9-2
[2] Tepua Russell (Cook Islands) bt [7] Olga O'Neil (Papua New Guinea) 9-2, 9-0, 9-2

Semi-finals:
[1] Naluge Guy (Papua New Guinea) bt [4] Eli Webb (Papua New Guinea) 9-0, 9-2, 8-10, 9-3
[2] Tepua Russell (Cook Islands) bt [3] Christine Jean (New Caledonia) 9-4, 9-1, 4-9, 9-0

Final:
[1] Naluge Guy (Papua New Guinea) bt [2] Tepua Russell (Cook Islands) 8-10, 9-2, 9-0, 9-6