Lokotui out for season with torn ACL

Talented young Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse midcourter Paris Lokotui will miss the rest of the ANZ Premiership season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee.

On the rise in her elite level career, Lokotui, 20, suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the match against the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in Dunedin on May 9.

In her second season with the Pulse, Lokotui was making great progress this year after transitioning into the midcourt in 2021, an impressive debut season resulting in selection to the 2021/22 Silver Ferns Development Squad.

The Victoria University student was also selected in the Silver Ferns training squad last year for the Cadbury Netball Series against England and Aotearoa Men. In a stellar year, Lokotui was named Aspiring Silver Fern in the 2021 New Zealand Netball Awards and Emerging Sportswoman of the Year in the Wellington sports awards.

“We are devastated for Paris,” Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie said.

“She has been in our starting line-up this season and was continuing to make big gains in her game.

“She is an integral part of this team and we’re all feeling for her at this time.”

Showing her character, Lokotui has remained with the team to help out where needed and will undergo surgery next week.

Another consigned to the sidelines for the season after rupturing her ACL in the pre-season, attacker Binnian Hunt, who was recruited from Australia but has remained with the team, had her post-injury surgery today (Tuesday) following Covid-related delays.

Blessed with an abundance of speed, creativity and deft feeding skills, Central Manawa midcourter Ainsleyana Puleiata will replace Lokotui in the Pulse line-up, fresh off helping Manawa secure a fourth national league title.

Puleiata, 21, is no stranger to the Pulse, having previously been a training partner while also adding valuable cover this year during the challenges thrown up by Covid.

Apart from her sparkling athletic talents, Puleiata has developed a strong mental fortitude and created her own inspirational story after bouncing back from two ACL ruptures of her own during her young career.