World Bowls Indoor Championships reach the knockout stages
Thursday saw the completion of section play in the World Bowls Indoor Championships at Guernsey Indoor Bowls Association where most of the favourites made it through to knockout stages of the men’s and women’s singles and mixed pairs.
In the men’s singles, Ray Pearse remains on course to take the title back to Australia for the second year in a row following his fifth win out of five games, while also unbeaten are 2022 World Bowls Indoor Championships Under 25 men’s singles and mixed pairs winner Harry Goodwin and former Welsh star Jason Greenslade who is donning the Guernsey colours for the first time at a world event.
They topped their sections, along with New Zealand’s Shannon McIlroy and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple who will be hoping to do better than bowing out at the quarter-final stage 12 months previously. The five now go directly through to the quarter-finals, along with 2022 winner and semi-finalist from last year Michael Stepney who finished second in his group, but randomly drawn out for direct entry into the last eight.
The other four countries finishing in second spot in their sections go into a knockout round for the remaining quarter-final places.
Hear interviews with Guernsey team manager Paul Ingrouille and New Zealand player Tayla Bruce on this week’s Sport Podcast
Those players are Simon Martin, of Ireland, who will play South Africa’s Jason Evans, who has put on a plucky display despite not having his own kit and bowls as a result of transportation problems in Dubai, and Spain’s Peter Bonsor who comes up against Clive McGreal, Isle of Man.
The women’s event saw disappointment for title holder Julie Forrest, Scotland, who missed out on qualifying from her group.
Her section was won by Connie Rixon, of Malta, with other group victors being Australia’s Samantha Atkinson, the home club’s Rose Ogier, whose win against England’s Rebecca McMillan saw her jump up the table into first place, and Forrest’s Scottish international colleague Natalie McWilliams along with current World Bowls Championships singles gold medallist Tayla Bruce from New Zealand. Can Bruce now add the World Bowls Indoor Championships crown to her World Bowls champion of champions victory from 2022?
The knockout round sees Jersey’s Lindsey Greechan, looking to better her 2014 IIBC singles runner-up performance, drawn against Linda Ng, of Canada, and Christine (Petal) Jones, who is representing the Norfolk Island competing in the mixed pairs with her grandson Jordy, up against Rebecca McMillan.
Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah was randomly drawn out to go straight through to the quarter-finals.
In the mixed pairs, Linda Ng and her Canadian colleague Mike McNorton and Scotland’s Julie Forrest and Michael Stepney’s unblemished record continued with their fifth win to top their groups and earn places in the quarter-finals.
Joining them in the last eight are Wales’ Sara Nicholls and Kristian Crocker, Olle Backgren and Alison Merrien MBE (Sweden and Guernsey) and New Zealand’s Tayla Bruce and Shannon McIlroy who also were section winners. The runner-up randomly drawn out for a direct entry into the quarter-final – Australia’s Samantha Atkinson and Ray Pearse stay on course as defending nation following the exploits of Kelsey Cottrell and Aron Sherriff in Warilla.
The pairings going into the knockout round are Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple who face Ireland’s Sandra Bailie MBE and Simon Martin, and Rebecca McMillan and Harry Goodwin, England, who take on Guernsey’s Rose Ogier and Jason Greenslade.
The winners of the knockout stage will join the remaining six teams in the quarter-final draw. Winner and runners-up from the same section cannot be drawn against each other with only one quarter-final also seeing group winners play against each other.
The draw for the quarter-final round will take place after the knockout round of each competition.
The mixed pairs knockout games are first on today at 8.30 am UK time.
