Papua New Guinea Teenager Vai Clinches Triple Gold For Pacific Games Hosts by Howard Harding July 20, 2015
- Just four days before her 17th birthday, Lynette Vai clinched her
third Pacific Games Squash gold medal for hosts Papua New Guinea in the
country’s capital Port Moresby to deny New Caledonia a repeat of the
clean sweep of all seven gold medals in the 2011 Games in Noumea.
Vai thrilled the packed crowds at the Port Moresby Racquet Club firstly
by leading Papua New Guinea to a 2/1 win over New Caledonia in the
Women’s Team Championship final, before taking gold in the Women’s
Singles event following an 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-1 final victory over
compatriot Eli Webb.
“It wasn’t a good start – my nerves took over,” Vai (pictured above,
far right, with her PNG team-mates) told Inside The Games after the win
her over fourth-seeded team-mate. “It was more of a challenge than the
last time we played and I wasn’t expecting it.
“But I had a break, calmed myself down and tried again. I became more patient, settled in and got used to her game.”
Vai, whose squash prowess has been boosted since being based in Penang
in Malaysia, then celebrated her Pacific Games gold medal hat-trick by
partnering Madako Junior Suari to title success in the Mixed Doubles
championship, the final event of the Games.
In an all-PNG final, the second seeds beat fourth-seeded Robin Morove & Eli Webb 11-9, 11-5.
New Caledonian Nicolas Massenet also returns home with three gold
medals to his credit. A Team gold medallist in the 2011 Games in his
home country, 25-year-old Massenet led New Caledonia to a successful
defence of the Men’s Team title in Port Moresby, then doubled his count
by taking gold in the Men’s Singles, courtesy of an 11-9, 12-10, 9-11,
11-7 final win over the hosts’ Madako Junior Suari.
It was in the Men’s Doubles that Massenet (pictured above with the
singles championship medallists) celebrated his third gold, pairing up
with Fabian Dinh to defeat Fiji’s Marika Matanatabu & Romit
Parshottam 11-7, 7-11, 11-4.
RESULTS: Pacific Games Squash Championships, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Men’s Team Championship Final:
NEW CALEDONIA bt FIJI 3/1
Nicolas Massenet lost to Justin Ho 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-13
Gael Gosse bt Marika Matanatabu 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4
Laurent Guepy bt Romit Parshottam 11-5, 11-2, 11-8
Fabian Dinh bt Andrew McGoon 12-10, 11-4, 11-3
