Dan's the man in Kuala Lumpur
DANIEL DE LA MARE could hardly have made a more upbeat start to his assault on the World Indoor Bowls Council world under-25 indoor singles title at the spanking new Bayu Emas bowls stadium near Kuala Lumpur.
DANIEL DE LA MARE could hardly have made a more upbeat start to his assault on the World Indoor Bowls Council world under-25 indoor singles title at the spanking new Bayu Emas bowls stadium near Kuala Lumpur. On what has been described as a 'trip of a lifetime', de la Mare took on and beat the defending champion, Jamie Chestney, who lit up the greens at Hougue du Pommier last year, when the championships were held in Guernsey.
Chestney, who has been hailed as the new David Bryant - without the pipe - rocketed to prominence two years ago at the age of 17, when he skipped his Norfolk clubmate to the English outdoor pairs title at Worthing.
Last year, after winning the WIBC world junior title, he powered his way to the quarter- finals of the WBT world indoor singles championship, before losing narrowly to Welsh star Jason Greenslade.
In Malaysia, de la Mare, 21, found a way to control Chestney's natural power, matching the English prodigy every step to a memorable 9-7, 7-8, 2-0 win.
It was a win that was achieved the hard way, through focus and consistency, showing that the Sarnian has learnt a lot, and is improving all the time.
The strength of the field is evident - de la Mare's next opponent in his group being none other than Ireland's Barry Kane, who won the world junior indoor title under the banner of the rival World Bowls Limited in Hong Kong.
By contrast to his close encounter with Chestney, the young Sarnian's clash with Kane was a see-saw swashbuckling affair, with big counts and plenty of excitement.
Winning the first set, 13-7, de la Mare looked on his way to another fine victory, but the talented Irishman took the second 12-2 and the match went down to the wire, Kane stealing the honours with a shot on the third end of the tiebreak.
With another two games to play in his group - he faces Scotland's British champion Ian McLean and home hope Hizlee Rais today - the Sarnian is in with a great chance of clinching a place in the semi finals.
His Guernsey colleague Lianna Bichard, is similarly poised in the women's event, having beaten England's Annalisa Bellamy, 8-9, 9-6, 2-0, before suffering a cruel tie-break defeat at the hands of Welsh star Hannah Smith.
She is also in contention in the mixed pairs event, having been fortuitously paired with the remarkable Chestney, and, after a bit of a scare in the second set, the Anglo-Guernsey combo came through their quarter-final against Smith and Scott Ruderham, 7-2, 8-9, 2-0.
