~ Dakar 2026: Guided by her wheelchair-bound father, Fiji boxer Kolitapa Merewalesi defies the odds at the Youth Olympic Games
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 10.11.2026) :: When Kolitapa Merewalesi stepped into the ring on Sunday (8 November) for her Youth Olympic Games debut at the Dakar Expo, she completed one part of an Olympic boxing dream that started long before she was even born.
The 17-year-old from Fiji lost her Round of 16 fight against Japan’s Mochii Ayona in the women’s 60kg division, decided by a split decision (4-1). That ultimately brought an end to her Dakar 2026 campaign.
She gave everything she had, poured her heart and soul into a contest that was decided by the finest of margins. It’s a fight that could have gone either way; on the cards of one of the five judges, she was the winner.
"When I came into the ring, I wanted to work on what I call the four Gs. The four Gs mean get in, get out, get off, and the fourth one is to go through, if those three don't work. That was what I was trying to do in the ring, but it didn't go my way," she told Olympics.com post-fight.
"I was disappointed with the decision, but I'm still grateful for my coach standing in the corner and constantly telling me to work, work. I know I've given it everything and produced my best performance."
"Most of the time in the past, whenever I lost a fight, I would go back and cry. But today, I'm really proud of myself because I gave my best performance to the world."
Cr-Olympics
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