BY Jamie Haro via ABC

Inclusive Sports has become a new tool of change. It empowers many persons with disabilities. They use their abilities to contribute significantly within their communities.

This change has greatly affected one’s life. It offers the chance to explore possibilities and travel the world through sports. People can represent not just their families but their country as a whole.

Manega Tapari survived a house fire at six years old. She became a hero for her family. Now, Papua New Guinea para-athlete Manega Tapari gets to call herself a Paralympian.

This follows her debut at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France a few weeks ago.

She is 25 years old and hails from the Central and Western provinces of PNG. She and her teammate, Herea Loi, were among a total of 13 Para-Athletes from the Pacific region. This was the biggest contingent by far to have attended any Paralympics.

She has become PNG’s first female Taekwondoin to win a round match in any summer Olympics or Paralympics. She achieved this after defeating her Central African Republic opponent, Flora Kimoto, in the Women’s K44 +65kg division.

“I’m still trying to sink that feeling, reliving the moment I won my first fight at the Paris Paralympics.”

She lost to her opponent in the round of 16 against Spain’s Dalia Santiago. Still, she has proven that her training paid off. Her mentor and coach Edward Kassman helped her achieve this.

She earned her golden ticket to the Paralympics. This achievement came after she qualified in the 2024 Oceania Qualification tournament. The tournament was held in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

She was one of the first four para-athletes to qualify for the country. The others included Loi and new PNG Olympians Kevin Kassman and Gibson Mara. They qualified ahead of this year’s Games.

Surviving the accident

Manega was born as a healthy baby to her parents. She grew up normal as any other kids. Her life took a drastic turn at the age of six. Their family home in Port Moresby went up in flames.

She sustained third degree burns to her body. She recalls this as a blessing in disguise. Her brother saved her life from the burning house.

“I thank God for the breath of life he has given me. I am grateful to live and see another day. I appreciate him for bringing me this far.”

“My late brother passed away a few years ago. He was my hero who saved me from that fire years ago. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Despite the sustaining degree burns, I’ve learnt to adapt to it while growing up.”

Life with Sports

Life was great playing sport in her village of Boera, Central where she now resides. Before taking up Athletics and Para-Badminton and Taekwondo, she spent time playing netball and volleyball at home.

“I really loved playing netball and basketball back home. But, one of my aunties encouraged me to try out athletics, especially the sprints.”

Tapari successfully joined para-athletics in November 2020 after trying the code.

In her free time, she visited the tracks and found the Para-Team. She tried out in the 100m sprints and successfully passed the trials.

Her first official competition was in the Southern Regional Athletics championship in Port Moresby.

“Before attending the try-outs, I didn’t know that my mum had already filled out the consent form. She wanted me to give it a shot. It turned out to be a great exposure for my sporting career.”

Through PNG Paralympics Committee, she got to compete in more regional athletics championships. She also competed in several national athletics championships.

This lasted until her involvement in Para-Badminton in 2022.

She doubled her training schedules for both para-athletics and badminton on a weekly basis. Last year, she made her debut by representing PNG.

She participated in the 2023 Western Australia Para-Badminton championships. She was classified as a U55 and competed in the Upper-body Para-Badminton matches. 

She received recognition as the Badminton World Federation Female Participation Grant recipient. She was honored for her inclusion through the TeamUp Inclusive GymBad program. This program engages with the PNG Badminton Federation.

Inclusive GymBad Lead Program Manager (PNG) Laurel Vagi said they believe in inclusivity. Manega is one of many para-athletes active in their program.

“We believe in inclusive sports and having Manega join Para-Badminton (Inclusive GymBad) program since 2022 is a great privilege.”

“She learnt a lot how to play using the shuttle and also is a very outspoken person among her peers. We are proud to see her achieve her goals in sports.”

Manega and a few fellow para-athletes were filled with anticipation. They were selected to travel to Honiara, Solomon Islands. There, they confirmed their classifications to compete in the 2023 Pacific Games.

She was classified as T46 and F47 para-athlete ahead of her next PNG representation duties.

“It was a great privilege to represent PNG at my first Pacific Games. I qualified and competed in the 100m sprints, the Javelin, and Shotput field events. I set some new personal bests there. That’s where fate brought me to taekwondo.”

Involvement in Taekwondo

Manega crossed paths with Taekwondo national coach Edward Kassman at the Pacific Games last year. This meeting happened after her participation with the PNG Para-Athletics team in Solomon Islands.

Taekwondo is expanding and opening doors for para-athletes within the Oceania Region. As a result, she was approached as a candidate for this offer.

“Coach Edward approached me after my athletics competition. He explained the importance of training and preparing for the Oceania region qualifiers the next year.”

At first, the idea of competing in a martial art sport sounded scary. But, it took quite some convincing. She finally accepted Coach Edward’s proposal to take up Taekwondo. This led into the qualification tournament in April.

“After the Pacific Games, I came back. I started taking Taekwondo lessons. The coach explained all the details of why he was willing to train and prepare me for this big event.”

“Herea and I were fortunate to continue with the training. We attended the qualifying tournament with other fellow team mates. As the future would have it, we’d become the first Para-Taekwondo athletes to represent PNG.”  

Meanwhile coach Kassman expressed honor in taking PNG’s first Para-Taekwondo athletes to the Paralympics. He acknowledged the challenges they faced along the way.

“It feels great to be the first to give this opportunity to our citizens. Otherwise, they would not have such an opportunity. It’s amazing to watch them realize their capabilities. It shows how unique our Country truly is amongst all World.

“I also had the honor of Coaching Fiji and Solomon Island athletes who performed extremely well for first time athletes. Creating history has always been in my mind.”

“Preparations were not ideal. Our athletes struggled a lot with minimal support and funding and this affected the most basic thing – training onshore. I had to arrange to train Manega at my home (carpark). My children helped her with daily training. As a result, she stayed with my family.

The athletes had an intense training session with their coach for the last two weeks before their fight. It addressed various aspects of their game.

Tapari has had challenges in her life. She is grateful to her mum, family, friends, teammates, and coaches. They have contributed to the growth of her sporting career.

 “Having a disability doesn’t make us any different from the rest of the community. What counts is the ability we have. Using that in sports has taught me valuable lessons in life.”

“Through inclusive sports in PNG, I got to travel, compete, and represent PNG in different countries. I also celebrated a personal milestone achievement,” Tapari said.

Tapari is now spending time at home with her family. She is focused on making her comeback in athletics. She aims to train and qualify for the 2025 Mini Pacific Games in Palau.