Taekwondo: O'Neill has Olympics in her sights

Rhiannon O'Neill has a summer of hard work to look forward to in preparation for the Oceania Olympic Taekwondo qualifying tournament in March.

Master Kesi O'Neill believes his daughter Rhiannon can gain selection for next year's Oceania Olympic Taekwondo qualifying tournament. And he isn't just speaking as a proud dad.

Master Kesi is the New Zealand mens' taekwondo coach and thinks his daughter and Auckland's Andrea Kilday are in the box seat for New Zealand's two women's spots at the qualifiers.

The pair recently returned from the Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - Kilday with a gold medal in the under 46kg division, and O'Neill with silver from the under 62kg division - with five other New Zealand athletes who all won medals.

It was a history-making Pacific Games, the first to feature New Zealand and Australian athletes.

O'Neill, the long-time under 62kg New Zealand champion and highly-qualified second dan black-belt holder, finished second to 2013 world champion, Australian Carmen Marton. But she did finish one position better than her previous appearance at the games when, in 2007 representing Samoa, she took bronze.

A knee injury put paid to any chance to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but the desire to compete at the highest possible level is still there and last year she took silver in the Oceania Games in Sydney.

"The Olympics are my main goal and I have always wanted to go. These Pacific Games are pretty important. If I get a good spot in this competition, it opens up a pretty big door for Rio," O'Neill said prior to the Pacific Games.

Now she said she is confident about selection for March's Rio Olympics qualifying tournament, also being held in Port Moresby, and in her ability to progress further.

In preparation she will pit herself against the best opposition she can by competing in tournaments in Thailand and Indonesia.

"It's about getting more mat time and meeting more world class people who will be doing exactly the same things that I am doing," she said.

Away from competition, she will also be seeking out the best people she can - mostly men - to spar with.

"There are not many females for me to spar with here so (sparring with men) is pretty much all I can do."

Sean Wells, who won bronze in the under 54kg division, was the only other local athlete in the New Zealand team at the Pacific Games.

On the long list for the men's coach position at the Olympic qualifier, Master Kesi said the Pacific Games renewed his enthusiasm for coaching.

"It really turned the fire back on for me - I went over there to get the group of athletes to where they need to be and being in that atmosphere at the athletes' village really put the wood on the fire for me," he said.

He was also asked to help the coachless Marshall Islands athlete Jason Sam, who secured a bronze medal.