Tonga is sending an 18-members strong team, five of them competitors, to the 28th Olympic Games to be held in Athens, Greece, from August 13-29.

Tonga will be participating in four sporting events, Archery, Athletics, Boxing and Judo, with one athlete for each event, except Athletics where there will be two. The only Tongan female athlete, 'Ana Po'uhila will compete in Shot Put, while Filipo Muller will compete in Track events. 'Ana is a gold medallist from the 2003 South Pacific Games in Suva, Fiji, and Filipo is the 2004 inter-college champion sprinter.

In Archery Tonga will be represented by Sifa Taumoepeau, and in Boxing by Douglas Ma'afu Hawke, and in Judo by 'Akapei Latu.

Sifa started competing in Archery in 2001 and won a silver and a bronze medal at the South Pacific Mini Games in Norfolk, and in 2002 he won a bronze at the New Zealand Championship. He also made significant progress at the 2003 World Championships in New York.

Douglas won a gold medal from the Ocean Boxing tournament in Nuku'alofa early this year.

'Akapei holds a Bronze medal from the Oceania Judo Union Championship in Fiji 2003.

Tongan athletes will be competing for the first time in Archery and in Judo at the Olympic.

The Tongan management team are, Takitoa Taumoepeau as the Chef de Mission, Lisimoni Kami, team doctor, and Lesieli Funake, the team physio.

In Archery the team leader is Ramsay Dalgety and the coach Miika Aulio. In Athletics the coaches are Fletcher McEwen, Dragan Ivanov and Steve Hollings.

In Boxing the team leader is Kisione Fakafanua and the coach Lolo Heimuli and in Judo the team leader is Lennie Niit, and the coach Kenichi Kubo.

The Event Manager for the Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee, Siaosi Tu'ipulotu said that most of the members of the Tongan contingent were already on their way to Greece, except for Filipo Muller, Lennie Niit, Kenichi Kubo and the President of TASANOC, Tevita Tupou and the Secretary General who would be leaving Tonga for Greece on August 7.

Siaosi said that two secondary school students had also been selected to represent Tonga in a youth camp that will be held in Athens in affiliation with the Olympic, they are Vai Va'enuku from Liahona High School and Sione Pahulu from Tailulu College.