The Samoa Wrestling team returned from the Oceania championship with a haul of five gold medals and will now gear up for the Mini Games in Palau. 

Of the wrestlers who competed in American Samoa, only Shane Palemia well known on the mat as Brock is eligible to compete in the Mini Games as wrestling only has an Under 20 division. 

"The competition in American Samoa was a success. For me, I went there with a body weight of 65kgs but there was no one in that weight, so I had to gain a few to compete in the 79kgs. It was a tough one as everyone was tall, big and had power but I still managed to earn medals," said Gaku Akasawa.

"The next one will be the Mini Games in Palau. But I can't play for that, I can only be a coach. I cannot confirm how many athletes we are taking if we are going. But it's only U20 that can compete, so we are looking at the young ones. At the moment, we have a few athletes in training but we don't know yet. I think it's only Shane who can compete in the Mini Games."

Shane Palemia won four gold medals from the Oceania Wrestling Championship in American Samoa. He said this was his first-ever international competition as an athlete. 

"It was a great opportunity to be out there with the best of the wrestling sport and to come out as the best. It was a tough competition but with the right mindset, you can do anything. I went into battle with a positive mind. It was great to have the first experience on the international stage, to get the right feeling of what it's like," he said.

"Without wrestling, I would've ended up on the street. But I was referred here by Willie Alofipo, so I came and trained and I fell in love with the sport. It's definitely a good sport, it's a bit brutal at times but I love it."