(Little Speedy) Bukalidi first picked up a hockey stick at the age of 14 at a P.E Lesson at Gospel High School. From that moment she knew Hockey was a sport she wanted to excel in, and excel she did :) The 18 year old who is also known for her speed and exceptional fitness joined the Mobees Hockey Club 3 years ago and even though she loved the sport, she had to miss matches due to school. “As much as I loved hockey, I had to put my school work first and had to give up playing for awhile” said Lora. At the end of 2013, the Fiji Hockey Federation began recruitment for the Under 18 Girls team who would represent Fiji in Vanuatu for the Olympic Qualifiers. This is when Lora decided that it was time to take her hockey to a new level, so she decided to try out for a spot in the 9 member squad. Much to her anticipation she was selected to represent Fiji in Vanuatu and went on to win MVP of the Tournament, which was a moment she will never forget. Her hockey career had just taken off and before she knew it, she was again selected to represent Fiji at the Youth Olympic Games in China. Off the field Lora enjoys playing touch rugby, swimming, reading and dancing. Lora is also known as the clown of the team, as she is always seen cracking jokes and making people laugh with her “dopey” antics. The 6th form technical student is the youngest in her family and boasts that her biggest achievement to date is being selected into the Fiji Women’s Hockey team preparing to face other island nations, Australian Country and the New Zealand Presidents Side at the 2014 Oceania Pacific Cup early next month. Our little speedy aspires to become an Aircraft Engineer and hopes that a sports scholarship made available to her one day may give her this opportunity to pursue her ambition. Miss Bukalidi admires Fiji Hockey Men’s utility player Adrian Smith and names him as her all time favourite hockey star. “His hard work, skill and speed on the ball is what makes him my role model and my motivator” says the Levuka born lass. As Laura gears up for her first test match against Vanuatu on Saturday December 6th, she already has her mind set on being the first to put Fiji on the score board this year and stamping her mark as yet another new player to watch out for. (Story by Catherine Thaggard, Melba Nautu and Maxine Browne)
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 10:21:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015