{"id":10862,"date":"2016-08-12T10:30:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=10862"},"modified":"2016-08-12T10:30:26","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T10:30:26","slug":"rugby-fiji-wins-first-olympic-gold-medal-with-win-over-great-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/rio-olympics\/rugby-fiji-wins-first-olympic-gold-medal-with-win-over-great-britain.html","title":{"rendered":"Rugby: Fiji wins first Olympic gold medal with win over Great Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby: Fiji wins first Olympic gold medal with win over Great Britain<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Rugby: Fiji wins first Olympic gold medal with win over Great Britain:<\/strong> Rio de Janeiro (CNN)As the final whistle sounded Fiji’s rugby sevens captain Osea Kolinisau sank to his knees, struggling to take in what he and his team had achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pacific island nation’s long wait for an Olympic medal was over. And when it finally arrived, it was a gold in a sport embraced with near-religious fervor among its 900,000 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Billed as heavy favorites ahead of the tournament, Fiji delivered with an emphatic, bruising 43-7 defeat of Great Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I was just thankful to the lord for blessing us and giving us an opportunity to win in a mega-sport arena like the Olympics,” Kolinisau told a press conference that began with the sound of applause.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I never dreamed of being an Olympian, let alone being a medalist, let alone being a gold medalist. So I was just thankful to up above for the journey God has brought me on.”<\/span><\/p>\n

This landmark triumph arrived at Fiji’s 14th Summer Games and in sevens’ first appearance in the Olympic program. The raucous atmosphere at a packed-out Deodoro Stadium suggested the country and the sport had been well received by the locals.<\/span>
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And in a bid to further endear themselves to one particular distinguished guest, Fiji’s players knelt when handed their medals by Britain’s Princess Anne.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the many Fiji fans in the crowd, many of whom had adopted the team over the course of the day, was Etu Baravilala.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 48-year-old stood on the front row throughout Fiji’s golden day, beating his bare chest and bellowing at the top of his lungs. <\/span><\/p>\n

He could scarcely be any further from his day job as a prison guard in Hawaii. Baravilala has lived in the US for 30 years but his heart still belongs to Fiji, the land of his birth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bedecked in traditional warrior dress, Baravilala sought to infuse his countrymen on the field with “mana” — a term which refers to granting people or objects supernatural power or strength. It seems his efforts paid off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked what this win would mean to the people of Fiji, he had a simple demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We want a day off!” he told CNN. “That’d be good!”<\/span><\/p>\n

In an ironic twist, Fiji’s victory was masterminded by a Brit. Ben Ryan has coached the team for three years and is credited with instilling discipline into his team’s outrageously talented players.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I feel very lucky that I’m in charge of such an unbelievable group of athletes with a country behind us that is so passionate about rugby sevens,” said Ryan.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I try to explain it to people who don’t go to Fiji or who have never been and it’s impossible really,” Ryan added on his adopted nation’s love for sevens.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The boys are front page and back of newspapers, six o’clock news… You come out of the airport and there’s a 20-foot billboard of them. They’re superstars in Fiji.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I can have an hour-long drive to work and I can see 50 villages playing rugby. It’s a passion. It’s the national sport. They won’t be having parties in sporadic parts of the country, it will be across the entire nation.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The celebrations come at a time when many in Fiji are still struggling after the devastating effects of Cyclone Winstone, which killed more than 40 people and left more homeless in February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

A first Olympic medal, especially in rugby, will doubtless be a welcome distraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Rugby is like a religion in Fiji, and we’re already a very religious country,” deputy editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times, Elenoa Baselaia, told CNN.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s normal that we go to church on Sundays, it’s also normal that everywhere you turn, there is people playing rugby every afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Whether it’s with paper scrunched together to make a ball, it’s with bottles or a real rugby ball, somebody in the neighborhoods is playing rugby.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Source : http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2016\/08\/11\/sport\/fiji-rugby-olympics-sevens-rio-2016\/index.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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