Lydia Panapasa (born 14 September 2000) is a Fijian netball player and former national shot putter who plays for
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
in the position of goal shooter. She was included in the Fijian squad for the
2019 Netball World Cup
The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matches ...
which was also her maiden appearance at a Netball World Cup.
Career
Lydia initially pursued her career in athletics similar to her mother and notably claimed a gold medal at the 2017 Coca-Cola Games in shot put event.
She then switched to netball and emerged from youth level after representing the national U21 netball team at the
2017 Netball World Youth Cup
The Netball World Youth Cup Gaborone 2017 was the eighth staging of the tournament previously (until 2013) known as the World Youth Netball Championships, the premier competition in international netball, contested every four years. The 2017 tou ...
which was held in
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
.
In November 2022 she was selected for the team for the 2022
Netball Singapore Nations Cup
The Netball Singapore Nations Cup is an annual netball tournament organised and hosted by Netball Singapore. The inaugural tournament was played in 2006 and was won by Singapore. The host nation is the tournament's most successful team, winning ...
.
Personal life
She was born in a family with a rich sporting background. Her mother Salote Noulivou Panapasa was a track and field athlete as well as a national basketball player.
Her uncle
Ilisoni Taoba
Ilisoni Vonomateiratu is a professional rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams ...
was a rugby union player. Her cousin
Akapusi Qera
Akapusi Qera (born 24 April 1984) is a Fijian professional rugby union player. A Flanker or No.8. He is married to wife Phillipha Talei and together they have four children. Qera is also from a Christian sporting family; his father was an inte ...
was also a rugby union player who formerly captained the national side. Her aunt
Laijipa Naulivou was a former national field hockey player.
References
2000 births
Living people
Fijian netball players
Fijian female shot putters
2019 Netball World Cup players
Fijian people of Rotuman descent
2023 Netball World Cup players
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