PNG Pepes, Margaret Eka who was absent for two years in 2015 after the Pacific Games, spoke to EMTV Sports and hopes to be back on court.
Margaret has been lending her support for other athletes at the High Performance Centre and says her goal this year is to make it into the national side.
She was selected captain of the U21 national women’s team in 2013, leading the girls to the World Youth Netball Championships in Glasgow. In 2015, Margaret represented PNG in the Pacific Games, shortly after she had an accident on the court that led her to go into hiding.
Now with the search for Pepes at hand, Margaret, who now works for PNG high Performance, says it’s an opportunity not to be missed, especially when it’s something she loves and enjoys most.
As she explains, making it to the World Qualifiers in New Zealand would mean a lot to her. She added, during the trials, many young and enthusiastic netball players came in their numbers to make into the national side, something she says is a life time achievement.
Despite Battling obstacles and feeling worthless, Margaret who defined herself as a fighter says, struggling for two years to fight her way back up, at the support of her family, and her late father, was the support she needed, which she is grateful for today.
Her advice to the young netballers planning to make the Pepes in the future should never give up, but instead, try harder.
Meanwhile, once the final selection of the Pepes Team is finalized, the team will go into 8 to 9 weeks of training before traveling to New Zealand in April to attend the World Qualifiers.
