'Ana Po'uhila, a Shot Put thrower is the only Tongan athlete to have qualifed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Hiko Fungavaka, from the Tonga Amateur Sports Association (TASA) said today that they are still hopeful that a female weight lifter, Kathleen Tu'alau will also qualify at an Oceania Weight Lifting competition in Auckland next month.

There is also a chance for a Tongan boxer to get a gold medal in the Super Heavyweight Division at the Oceania Boxing Championship to be held in April. "Twelve gold medals are up for grabs, and only gold medal holders will qualify to compete in Beijing."

Hiko said that if no other Tongan athletes will qualify for Beijing, they are hopeful that seven Tongan athletes, including 'Ana Po'uhila will represent Tonga in Beijing.

"They usually give us two wild cards in the Track and Field, and in the past we sent a boy and a girl to compete in the 100 meters dash."

TASA is also hopeful for three more wild cards, one each for archery, weight lifting in the Super Heavy division for a female lifter, Kathleen Tu'alau and someone from Tae Kwando.

The Beijing Olympic will run from August 8 to 24.