A blockbuster day of action at the inaugural World Cup in Malaysia saw the finalists confirmed in three out of the seven disciplines contesting the global championship.
First finalists to book their spot in Super Saturday’s showdown were Australia’s para mixed pair combination Serena Bonnell and James Reynolds who beat their Trans-Tasman colleagues Teri Blackbourn and Kurt Smith, of New Zealand, 3-2, 8-3. They will face Scotland’s Pauline Wilson and Garry Brown who were 6-3, 6-3 winners over England’s Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall (with director Elizabeth Shipley) and John Greaves.
Hosts Malaysia held the bragging rights in the women’s singles with their two players reaching the last four – Emma Firyana Binti Saroji and Nurul Alyani Binti Jamil – guaranteeing two medals.
Dropping the first set against Australia’s Dawn Hayman 2-10, Saroji dug deep and overturned that loss into a 6-4 win in the second set forcing a tiebreak which she clinched 1-0 to set-up a final against England’s Katherine Rednall who returned a 6-3, 5-3 winning scorecard against Jamil who had to settle for bronze – both players having enjoyed unblemished runs to the semi-final.
Wales’ Daniel Davies Junior and Ross Owen will go head-to-head with Scotland’s Paul Foster MBE and Jason Banks – Wales chalking up a 6-0, 4-2 victory over James Po and Ka Ho Lee, of Hong Kong, China, and Scotland edging Ireland’s Ryan McElroy and Adam McKeown the tightest of tiebreak measures 5-3, 2-5, 1-0.
Action continues tomorrow with the start of the men’s singles, women’s pairs, para men’s singles and para women’s singles.
Official Links:
Event Info: worldbowls.com/world-cup-2025
Watch Every Session Live and Free on YouTube: youtube.com/@world_bowlsCaption: A fist pump from Australia’s Serena Bonnell and James Reynolds on the way to making the para mixed pairs final. Credit: Bowls Malaysia
Report compiled by Ceris Hewlings, World Bowls media officer
