What do an estate agent, youth worker, dental assistant, PE teacher, architectural designer and the CEO of Niue Chamber of Commerce all have in common? They are all currently bidding for world glory at cluBarham, NSW, Australia, where World Bowls is staging one of its top events – the 2025 champion of champions.
Fifty-seven national champions from all corners of the globe are plying their trade at the club which boasts a two synthetic carpet nine-rink Riverdome complex situated 303km northwest of Melbourne, the coastal capital of the south-eastern state of Victoria.
Day two of the event has been a moving day for a number of the competitors who come from 33 nations as the nine round group game competition hots up.
Out of the 31 women competing, it’s New Zealand’s Debra White, silver medallist in this event in 2019 who is making a bold attempt to go one better during this year’s tournament – she’s the only player to maintain a 100 per cent record with six wins out of six.
She leads section two with 18 points, with Thailand’s Thaddaow Phandaech on 15 points and England’s Izzie White, third with 12.
Former World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship double gold medallist Shauna O’Neill from Ireland is currently winning section one with 15 points. Shae Wilson from the Norfolk Islands and Malaysia’s Syafiqu Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman are second and third respectively with 12 points.
Section three sees Malta’s Rebecca Rixon on the hunt for her second World Bowls title of the year. She’s the current World Bowls Indoor Championship women’s singles gold medallist and heads section three with 15 points. Her closest challenger is Hong Kong China’s Gloria Ha who is just behind her on the same points, while Scotland’s Jaclyn Neil lies in third on 12 points.
In the men’s event, section one is tight at the top with three players all on 12 points, Malaysia’s Amirul Danial Abdul leads section, Wales’ Carl Wood is second and Naret Aiangetuen from Thailand is third.
Section two sees Fiji’s Rajnesh Prasad and Australia’s Jacob, the only two male players unbeaten with four out of four wins and 12 points each. Prasad is in first spot, Nelson second and Canada’s Owen Kirby is third having collected nine points.
India’s Putul Sonowal takes the honours in section three with 12 points, followed by former champion Iain McLean and Turkiye’s Ozkan Akar in second and third, both on nine points apiece.
Australia’s Chloe Stewart, the highest ranked female in the competition – she’s No 3 in the World Bowls Series list – chalked up three wins out of three today to get herself back in the mix in section one after a disappointing opening day where she recorded one win out of three matches. She’s in fourth place with 12 points going into the final full day of group games tomorrow (Tuesday), while defending champion, Milika Nathan from Tonga is fourth in section three and still has hopes of becoming the first women to win back-to-back titles.
Qualifying rounds take place until Wednesday morning, with quarter-finals that afternoon and the semi-finals and the grand final on Thursday.
The top two finishers in each section will progress to the quarter-finals, while out of the three third place getters, one will get an automatic place in the last eight with the other two playing-off for a spot in the knockouts.
As well as the world titles up for grabs, extra incentive is platinum ranking points with an opportunity if you are ranked in the top 10 on October 31 to secure a spot in the WBS finals to be staged December 9-12, also at cluBarham.
Full daily results and up-to-date tables – HERE
Live streaming – HERE
Photo gallery – HERE
Report compiled by: Ceris Hewlings, World Bowls media officer, ceris.hewlings@keypublishing.com
Photo caption: New Zealand’s Debra White, silver medallist in this event in 2019 is aiming to go one better during this year’s tournament – she’s the female player in the field to maintain a 100 per cent record
