Results for Tongans Overseas

Around 10 schools took part in Queensland’s first inter-schools Polynesian Festival with Woodridge State High School winning the Tongan stage segment at the Edmund Rice Performing Arts Centre, St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane, on 27 April.

A 30-year-old man of Tongan descent in the United States, Otto Halafihi of Oakland, was sentenced on 5 March to 12 years imprisonment for the assault and theft of an elderly woman in Martinez, San Francisco Bay Area last year. The victim, a 93-year-old woman Ann Marie Pederson, was hospitalized and died less than a month after the assault.

Two convicted murderers in California, Tevita Kaihea (22) and Charlie Hola (22), were handed large prison sentences by a court in Sacramento yesterday 27 August. Kaihea received a prison sentence of 112 years to life whilst Hola received 48 years to life.

Uaine Fa Junior defeated Mexican heavyweight Luis Pascual via a 10 round unanimous decision victory on Friday night 22 June, in Auckland, to win the World Boxing Organisation Oriental title.

A Hawaiian fireknife performer of Tongan descent, Hale Motuapuaka, was declared the winner of the 2018 World Fireknife Championships on 12 May Saturday at the Polynesian Cultural Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 18-year-old received a prize of $7,500 (USD).

Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist David Liti (of Tongan descent) was awarded the David Dixon Award for his sportsmanship in assisting a fellow injured weightlifter Lauititi Lui of Samoa. The David Dixon Award is a four-yearly award given to the outstanding athlete of each Commonwealth Games, based on their performance at the event, fair play, and overall contribution to their team's participation at the Commonwealth Games.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai of the Philadelphia Eagles and Harvey Langi of the New England Patriots, will vie for a Super Bowl ring when their teams clash in Super Bowl LII on February 4 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Eagles are expected to name Vaitai as a starting tackle while Langi sits on the Patriot’s injury list since surviving a serious car crash in October last year.

Junior Fa (aka Uaine Fa) has earned his 13th win via a first-round knockout. His American opponent, Fred Latham, was an undefeated US fighter with nine wins on his record. The fight took place in the United States in Cleveland 10 November.

A 26-year-old man in New Zealand, Gustav Sanft (of Tongan heritage), has been found guilty of manslaughter by a New Zealand jury in relation to the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Amokura Daniels-Sanft, in 2016. He was sentenced to four years and four months’ imprisonment today.