Pacific Games football semi-finals: Team Fiji create an island of blue surrounded by a sea of green supporters in the Solomon Islands vs Fiji semi-final at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara. 28 November 2023. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins
A well-known sports commentator in Fiji has called for an urgent review of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC).
Satish Narain, who has been in the field for the last 30 years, has called for a review of systems and operations within the sports fraternity in the country, especially FASANOC as the umbrella body that manages Fiji's participation at the Pacific Games.
The veteran commentator and former journalist wants to know what plans the organisation has to stop Fiji's downward spiral at the Pacific Games.
His call comes after Team Fiji finished on sixth on the Games medal tally in Honiara, with a haul of 21 gold medals, 30 silver and 40 bronze.
Satish Narain Photo: Facebook.com/Satish Narain
At the 2019 Games in Samoa, Fiji claimed fifth position on the medal tally, returning home with a total of 35 gold medals, 38 silver and 43 bronze.
French territories New Caledonia and Tahiti finished in the top two on the medal tally once again in Honiara - the former with 82 gold medals and the latter with 57 gold.
Fiji's Pacific neighbours, Samoa had 34 gold in fourth position while Papua New Guinea had eight more than Fiji at 29 gold medals.
Narain told RNZ Pacific this week that FASANOC and its affiliated sports federations need to change their focus.
He said the Olympic body must put in plans that will sports in the country is developing in the right direction with the Pacific Games as the focus.
This is because not all sports and athletes will go past the Games to other international events like the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, Narain said.
He said while it is good to see young athletes representing Fiji at the 2023 Pacific Games, the losing trend has been happening in the last 20 years, with Fiji topping the Games' medal tally only in 1963 - when the event was first held.
Narain believes the mentality to accept the results as good needs to change urgently, otherwise everyone will accept results as being the best that can be achieved.
"I think, in the Pacific, sometimes we are happy with sub-standard performance. And in Fiji that is becoming a little bit too much," he said.
"Team Fiji didn't perform the way they should have performed."
Narain said Team Fiji athletes, especially young athletes, who have gone and tasted the competition, need something that they can work with to help them improve and develop to their full potentials.
Athletes and officals of Team Fiji at the closing ceremony of the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara. Photo: Team Fiji
Focus on major gold medal winning sports
New Caledonia and Tahiti have continued to do better because their programs are focused on sports that win more medals than any other like weightlifting, swimming, athletics and powerlifting, Narain said.
He said Samoa and PNG have realised that and are putting focus on these sports, thus their top five finish in Honiara.
He added Fiji had done better in these sports in the past.
"Fiji has done better in the [minor] sports because there are a lot of medals available in the sports. But we [Fiji] failed miserably in all these three sports," Narain said.
"If you look at the results over the past 20 years, we have performed poorly. So, it's not just about the performance of the Games in the Solomon Islands but it is certainly something that's been going on for two decades.
"The definition of performing poorly is that our teams have failed to win gold medals in these sports and of course some other sports where we should have won gold medals.
"But you can't really pin on the other sports and the reason I am pinning on these three sports, generally is because there's a lot of medals at stake."
He said FASANOC needs to come up with a better strategic plan that are performance based, which are both short and long-term focused.
"We need better strategic planning; we need things that ranges from two to four years to six years in place. If it's not we need better accountability," he said.
"We need to look at the development of athletes, we need to have good coaching and training. If you don't train your coaches, if you don't upskill your coaches, you will have substandard performance from your athletes.
"We need to have competition that bridges that gap before you go to big games like the Pacific Games. For many athletes the Pacific Games is like their Olympic Games.
"I hope that people in the Pacific understand what I'm saying about that because a lot of our athletes will only reach up to the Pacific Games.
"And that is the climax, that is the ultimate aim. So the national sports federations, FASANOC and other bodies, they need to provide the right platform, they need to provide finance. They need to provide the training for our athletes to go and excel at the Pacific Games."
Leading from the front - Fiji 7s captain, Suliano Volivolituevei, scores the first try for his team against Samoa in the final at the 2023 Pacific Games. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins
National sports institute
Narain believes it is high time too that Fiji establish national institute of sports, which would be tasked with identifying talent and developing them through high performance standards focused on representing Fiji at the highest levels.
He said similar set-ups in Australia and New Zealand have worked wonders.
PNG had set up one some years back while the Solomon Islands have also set up one.
Fiji had planned to do that years ago, with the then government closing what was called the Laucala Bay Secondary School in Laucala Bay, close to the National Stadium in Suva for that purpose.
But nothing has come out of that.
"That is something that's on the table," he said.
"That's something that people have floated ideas on to the past government and the current government. I think also it's something that the government will need to certainly see and take it through."
"The Fiji Institute of Sports can be like the Australian Institute of Sports, and there's something in New Zealand also. It's all about harnessing the talent. It's all about talent identification, marking down names and taking them through a pathway, elite pathway, and you take the athletes through up to the Pacific Games and even further into the Commonwealth Games and into the Olympic Games."
He likened that to what the Fiji Rugby Union is now doing with schools' rugby, sevens rugby, the under-20s, the Fijian Warriors, Fijiana women and the Fijian Drua, with all these developing players to play for the Flying Fijians or the Fijiana teams.
"Why can't it happen in other sports? I think the buck stops with national federations and strong finger pointed at FASANOC. They need to get the systems right. If Fiji is one day wanting to go to the top of the metal Telly at the Pacific Games.
"The last time we were the top was in 1963. Over the last 20 years they've suffered and they'll suffer for another 20 years if hard decisions and the right decisions are not made."
RNZ Pacific has contacted Team Fiji chef de mission Ajay Ballu to the 2023 Pacific Games and FASANOC for comment.
Ballu has not replied, while a FASANOC spokesperson said they will respond to our query "as soon as possible".
According to a post on Team Fiji's Facebook page, "a lot of sacrifice, dedication and commitment by our very young team made us proud to celebrate their success, their efforts and their passion to represent our beloved Fiji".