Minutes after the multiple world title-winner led a large cohort of Sarnian athletes and officials through Guernsey Airport arrivals yesterday lunchtime, proudly displaying the island’s flag in doing so, bowls team manager Paul Ingrouille highlighted not only her medal success but the squad’s top-eight finishes in all four categories at the Scottish Event Campus rink.
Ingrouille unsurprisingly marked Merrien’s semi-final triumph over Malaysia’s Emma Firyana Saroji – the World Bowls Series’ top-ranked player – as his most memorable moment of these Commonwealth Games.
‘It’s excellent – she played really, really well,’ he said.
The bowls in Glasgow had utilised a short and intense format with minimal room for error, especially as only the winner of each group would make the semi-finals.
But beyond Merrien’s women’s pairs campaign with Rose Ogier yielding an overall top-six finish, sharing the same win-loss record as Australia and Northern Ireland in their group, Ingrouille feels that it helped her individual campaign.
‘With Ali having played half-a-dozen games already on the rinks, that set her up well for the singles,’ he said.
‘Some of the other nations had three [competitors], so their singles player had not played in the first part of the week.
‘That set Ali up in good stead and she just played really, really well.’
Jason Greenslade finished ranked seventh in the men’s singles, also picking up experience within the format ahead of joining forces with Ali’s husband Ian in the pairs.
The team manager felt they had been ‘unlucky’ not to qualify.
In their crunch match against Malaysia, they were winning the first set but had to settle for a draw after the jack got moved in the final end, and then they were outclassed in the second and did not get a shot at a tie-breaker.
‘They were very, very close to going through as well.’
Ingrouille is unsure whether he will repeat his role for the lengthy trip out to India for Amdavad 2030, but this close-to-home Games gave him plenty of reasons to smile.
‘It was a new format, which all nations had to adapt to, but I am so proud of the team.
‘The support that we’ve had from the general team management, the medical team, secretary, treasurer, whoever was around, was fantastic.
‘The Bailiff as well, so many games he came to watch.
‘There’s a friendly voice and a flag in the crowd all the time.’
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