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Pacific Mini Games : Vanuatu breaks games record for medals

The Pacific Mini Games has been underway for just six days and already the host nation has hit a high.

Vanuatu secured its sixth gold medal of the Games on Saturday morning in the final of the tennis Men’s teams event surpassing the previous highest total for the nation of five gold.

President of the Vanuatu Tennis Federation, CyrilleMainguy could not have been prouder of the performance on court this morning.

“We made history – it’s the first gold medal for Tennis in any Pacific Games,” he said.

“We have previously won silver in 2009 Mini Games, 2011, 2015 and this year at home we have got gold out of the nine countries that are present.”

Following a win and a loss in the singles element of the event on Friday, it all rested on the outcome of the doubles and the Vanuatu team of CyrilJacobe and Aymeric Mara played well, ending with a decisive score of 6-2,6-2 in a dominant performance over Fiji.

Mainguy is also the Secretary General of VASANOC and the importance of breaking this record has not been lost on him.

“For Team Vanuatu it is super special because we’ve never had more than five gold medals so this is our sixth gold medal and I am so proud that tennis is the sport that brings that gold medal to Team Vanuatu – and it’s only the end of the first week,” he said.

“We have one more week to go so I am really looking forward as SG of VASANOC for more and more gold medals for the different sports.”

Despite the gold medal success coming from the racquets ofJacobe and Mara, Mainguy is quick to point out that this was a team event and therefore credit should go to all five players for Vanuatu – Jacobe, Mara, Clement Mainguy, Lorenzo Pineda and Leniker Thomas.

“It’s a Teams event, we have five players and they all played,” he said.

“Now the boys – they know they can do it. We’ve still got the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles. So I believe we can at least go for a couple more podiums – hopefully on the higher part of the podium but I think that the men’s singles and doubles have got a good chance.”

Story by Jill Scanlon : Photo by Jill Scalon and Peter Carroll : van2017.com
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