The 26th edition of the World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship has begun at the Jim Baker Stadium, home to County Antrim IBC, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
It’s the second time in four years the event has been held at the club.
Co-sanctioned by World Bowls and the International Indoor Bowls Council (IIBC), the World Bowls Junior Indoor Championship is open to players Under 25 years of age from all the members countries/regions around the world.
A total of 36 players from 18 countries and regions are competing in this year’s event which will see world champions crowned in three events – men’s and women’s singles and mixed pairs.
It’s a milestone event for one of the countries – Turkiye who are entering the championship for the first time with Ahmet Cakar and Zaynep Temizsoy representing their country.
Twelve months ago, when the event was played at Hong Kong Football Club in the centre of the vibrant Asia city of Hong Kong, seven countries won medals, but it was Australia who had the bragging rights with Kane Nelson winning both the men’s singles and mixed pairs with Kira Bourke. Malta’s Rebecca Rixon was the women’s singles champion.
In 2023, in East Kilbride, Scotland, Ireland’s Shauna O’Neill did the double winning both the women’s singles and mixed pairs, while in 2022 at County Antrim, Harry Goodwin from England walked away with the men’s and mixed pairs titles.
Can that double world champion feat be achieved for the fourth year in succession? Watch this space.
The 2025 field is strong and after day one, three players have 100 per cent records across the singles and mixed pairs events – Angel Gomez from the USA, Nurin Izzati, of Malaysia, and New Zealand’s Briar Atkinson.
In the singles, 11 players were unbeaten – six in the men’s contest and five in the women’s.
In the men’s event, they were Hong Kong, China’s Gary Kwan and the USA’s Angel Gomez in Group A, the Cook Islands’ Adoni Wichman Rairo in Group B, while in Group C Australia’s Joseph Clarke, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, and Erik Galipeau, of Canada, who is the only returning winner to the field having triumphed in the mixed triples in 2016 returned winning scorecards from their two matches.
For the women, those with unblemished records were New Zealand’s Briar Atkinson and Ireland’s Lara Reaney in Group A, Scotland’s Leah McCloy in Group B, and Malaysia’s Nurin Izzati and Hong Kong, China’s Abbie Chan in Group C.
Special mention to youngest competitor in the event, Mikaela Ng, of Singapore, who sits in second place in Group B, at just 13 years of age.
Early group leaders in the mixed pairs meanwhile are Malaysia (Muhammad Izraf and Nurin Izatti), Angel Gomez and Cathrin Elly Le Messurier (USA), Joseph Clarke and Erin Swatridge (Australia) and Camron Horo and Briar Atkinson (New Zealand).
Group games continue tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9.30 am GMT.
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Caption: Turkiye are making their debut in the World Bowls Indoor Junior Championship – Ahmet Cakar and Zaynep Temizsoy
Report compiled by Ceris Hewlings, World Bowls media officer
