It’s been a huge day of spectacular bowls and para bowls action at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
With just one round of sectional play remaining in the men’s singles and women’s pairs tomorrow, today has featured high-stake matches as the final group game positioning is decided across the quick-fire formats, while semi-finalists were locked in for the para mixed pairs B2-B3.
MEN’S SINGLES
In the men’s singles, 67-year-old Mohammed Ayub Qureshi, affectionately known as Chico, pulled off the shock of the day chalking up a 2-0 (7-5, 8-5) win over World Bowls champion of champions silver medallist Fiji’s Ranjesh Prasad who had been unbeaten and leading Section C after accounting for four times Games medallist Sam Tolchard, of England, Jamaica’s UK-based Robert Simpson and home favourite Jason Banks, who is making his Games debut.
A first win in the group for tandoori restaurant owner Qureshi who moved to Glasgow when he was a teenager sent shockwaves through the section which now sees Tolchard back in contention for semi-final qualification after recording a 2-0 (17-0, 17-2) win over Jamaica’s Robert Simpson jumping from third place to top the section, with Banks retaining second place after a tiebreak encounter with Wales’ 2022 triples bronze medallist Ross Owen.
England and Scotland, both with three wins out of four, will go head-to-head tomorrow in a winner takes all encounter for progression to the final four.
Also on course for a place in the semi-finals is defending champion Aaron Wilson, of Australia.
He continues to make a bold bid to win gold for the third Games in succession as he tops Section A with five out of five wins, Northern Ireland’s Gary Kelly, who has bronze and silver medals under his belt from the 2018 and 2022 Games, maintains his leader status in Section B, with an unblemished record from his five matches despite being pushed to a tiebreak against Norfolk Island’s Mitchell Graham, while Malaysia’s Izzat Shameer Dzukeple leads the charge in Section D who has returned winning scorecards from his campaign of four games.
Semi-finals for both pairs sees Section A v Section D and Section B v C.
The semi-finals take place tomorrow (Monday) at 8.40 pm BST.
WOMEN’S PAIRS
In the women’s pairs, England’s Amy Pharaoh and Sian Honnor, who have eight Games medals between them, booked their place in the semi-final after a tense tiebreak thriller against India’s Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey – two of India’s historic gold medal winning fours team four years ago – saw them finish top of Section B – the only group to have been decided so far.
That winning feeling from England’s Amy Pharaoh
Namibia’s Amanda Steenkamp and opening ceremony baton bearer Diana Vilojean finished second in that group recording four wins – all on tiebreaks – against Malta, India, Tonga and South Africa.
England will face the winners of Section C which is led by Wales’ Games debutants Lauren Gowan and Amy Williams who face second placed New Zealand’s former World Bowls Series No 1 Selina Goddard and Katelyn Inch, both bronze medallists in Birmingham four years ago, in their final section game.
After five games, Northern Ireland’s Chloe Wilson and Shauna O’Neill, who had support Olympic and Commonwealth athletics legend Lady Mary Peters, patron of Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland today, remain unbeaten in Section A and face Australia’s Dawn Hayman and three times Games medallist Kelsey Cottrell who are one place below them in the table topping decider.
The victors will face Section D winners in the final four – either Malaysia’s Aleena Ahmad Nawawi and Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman, who hold first place in the group, or second spot’s Norfolk Island’s Ellie Dixon and Christine Jones who have recorded three out of four wins to will battle it out for the honours.
Lady Mary Peters, patron of Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland was in the stands enjoying the action
PARA MIXED PAIRS B2/B3
Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and England have booked their places in the semi-finals of the para mixed pairs B2-B3 after thrilling final sectional game deciders.
Wales’ Julie Thomas, silver medallist at Birmingham 2022, and director Jamie Jones, and Steffan James and director John Wilson, who topped the section will take on the challenge of England’s Ron Homer BEM and director Sue Davies and World Cup VI women’s pairs winners Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall and Elizabeth Shipley who clinched fourth place. The England duo ending the qualification hopes of Australia’s Jacky Hudson and director Claire Turley and Jake Fehlberg, the only para bowler in history to have won gold at both the Commonwealth Games and World Bowls Championships, and director four times Commonwealth Games medallist Karen Murphy on a tiebreak.
Scots, Mary Stevenson and director James Aiken and defending champion Robert Barr and director Sarah-Jane Ewing, who finished second, will meet New Zealand’s Sonya Woodrow and director Kimberley Carraker and Kerrin Wheeler and his director, also his dad, Colin Wheeler who claimed third spot in the other semi-final.
The para mixed pairs semi-finals take place at 7 pm BST tomorrow with the men’s singles and women’s pairs semi-finals at 8.40 pm.
Finals day for the three disciplines is on Tuesday starting with the para mixed pairs at 8.30 am, the women’s pairs at 10.10 am and the men’s singles at 11.35 am.
For full schedule and results, see: https://www.glasgow2026.com/schedule/day-by-day?code=LBO&startDate=2026-07-24
To view the full photo gallery, see: https://worldbowls.pixieset.com/2026commonwealthgames/
To recap on Day 2’s action, see: https://www.worldbowls.com/commonwealth-games-day-2-wrap/
