Vanuatu at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Vanuatu competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.

Vanuatu at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeVAN
NOCVanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee
Websitewww.oceaniasport.com/vanuatu
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors4 in 4 sports
Flag bearer Yoshua Shing
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

The Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASNOC) selected a quartet of male athletes to compete each in boxing, judo, rowing, and table tennis at the Games, failing to register any female athletes for the first time in its Summer Olympic history.[1][2] All of Vanuatu's competitors made their Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, except for table tennis player Yoshua Shing, who attended the London Games four years earlier. The most experienced competitor of the roster, Shing was given the honor of carrying the Vanuatu flag at the opening ceremony.[1]

Vanuatu, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal, as none of these athletes progressed beyond the first round of their respective sporting events.

Background

Vanuatu's opening ceremony flag bearer was Yoshua Shing. It was the third consecutive Olympics that a table tennis player was the flag bearer for Vanuatu.[3] The country did not have a closing ceremony flag bearer, and a volunteer performed the task.[4]

Vanuatu's first Olympics was in 1988, and has appeared in every Olympic Games since. As of these Olympics, Vanuatu has not won an Olympic medal.[5]

Boxing
Main articles: Boxing at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Boxing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Vanuatu received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a male boxer competing in the bantamweight division to the Games, signifying the nation's return to the sport for the first time since 1988.[6][7]

Warawara fought Russian Vladimir Nikitin in the Round of 32. Warawara lost by unanimous decision, with all three rounds going to Nikitin, with scores of 28-29, 26-30 and 27-30. Near the end of the final round, the match was stopped due to a cut on Nikitin's head. Warawara's corner did not believe the judges scored the match fairly. After the fight, Warawara posted on Facebook, "Congratulations to Vladimir Nikitin! Thank you for the experience of fighting a top 3 world ranked boxer. I will be back, but only bigger and better ! Best of luck in the medal rounds."[8]

Athlete Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Lionel Warawara Men's bantamweight  Nikitin (RUS)
L 0–3		 did not advance

Judo
Main articles: Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Vanuatu has qualified one judoka for the men's half-lightweight category (66 kg) at the Games. Joe Mahit earned a continental quota spot from the Oceania region as Vanuatu's top-ranked judoka outside of direct qualifying position in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016.[9]

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Joe Mahit Men's −66 kg Bye  Mata (ARU)
L 000–100		 did not advance

Rowing
Main articles: Rowing at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Rowing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Vanuatu has received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a rower in the men's single sculls to the Rio regatta, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.[10]

Athlete Event Heats Repechage Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Luigi Teilemb Men's single sculls 8:00.42 6 R 7:34.12 3 SE/F Bye 8:19.15 3 FE 8:24.67 30

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Table tennis
Main articles: Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Vanuatu has entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. 2012 Olympian Yoshua Shing picked up an unused berth freed by New Zealand to round out the top three in the men's singles at the 2016 Oceania Qualification Tournament in Bendigo, Australia.[11]

Shing lost in the preliminary round to Marcos Madrid, 0-4.[3]

Athlete Event Preliminary Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Yoshua Shing Men's singles  Madrid (MEX)
L 0–4		 did not advance

References
  1. "VASANOC present gear to Team Vanuatu for Rio 2016". Loop VAN. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. Ewart, Richard (1 August 2016). "Vanuatu Olympic quartet have earnt their places at the Rio Games". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  3. Nasse, Raymond (8 August 2016). "Update on Vanuatu athletes at the Rio 2016". Vanuatu Daily Post. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  4. "Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony - Flag Bearers" (PDF). Olympic.org. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. "Vanuatu". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. "Olympic Games Tripartite Commission confirms its five Invitation Places for the men's Rio 2016 boxing competition". AIBA. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  7. "Duo confirmed for Rio". The Fiji Times. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  8. Nasse, Raymond (12 August 2016). "Vanuatu's Warawara goes down on points to Russia's Nikitin". Vanuatu Daily Post. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  9. "IJF Officially Announces Qualified Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". International Judo Federation. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. "Sport: Vanuatu rower qualifies for Rio Olympics". Radio New Zealand. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  11. "Vanuatu Table Tennis Association Yoshua Shing Qualified on Merit for Rio Olympics". Fox Sports Pulse. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
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