Championship defence on track
Despite a three-year hiatus, defending champion Lee Schraner from Australia is on track to repeat his fabulous 2019 World Singles Champion of Champions victory in Adelaide.
At the supreme Naenae bowls complex in Wellington New Zealand, Schraner was in scintillating form today, winning both his matches to sit at the top of Section 2.
However, England’s Sam Tolchard, who collected two medals at the recent Birmingham Commonwealth Games, is also undefeated in Section 1 and avid bowls fans are salivating at the possibility of a head-on collision between the two young stars for gold at Naenae.
‘Let’s not get carried away with this,’ Schraner berated a keen scribbler at the conclusion of the day’s play. ‘This week’s men’s event features the national champions of 30 nations, so there’s a mountain of talent and five more days of competition to come.’
Schraner is unbeaten and +55 shots, while Royden Aperau from the Cook Islands is also undefeated and +13, while plucky Welshman Kevin James sits third on +8. In the corresponding section Tolchard is +37, with local ace Kelvin Scott seven in arrears, while Norfolk Island’s Trevor Gow and Anthony Loh from Singapore are in contention on +12 and +8 respectively.
New Zealander Tayla Bruce from Burnside in Christchurch was flawless today to be +42 shots up, while Australia’s recently retired world and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Carla Krizanic is next best on +27, followed by three more unbeaten contenders, Malaysia’s Ain Tarmizi +22, American Anne Nunes +20 and Melanie Thomas from Wales +14.
2022 World Singles Championships
Wellington, New Zealand
Day 1:
Men:
Section 1:
Rd. 1: Niksa Benguric (RSA) bt Billy Nicholls (CYP) 17-2 22-3, Gordon White (SCO) bt Edwin Nyoka (BOT) 8-6 8-5, Kelvin Scott (NZL) bt Gary McCloy (IRE) 8-5 11-8, Sam Tolchard (ENG) bt Kushal Pillay (FIJ) 11-3 14-3.
Rd.2: Scott bt Cecil Alexander (FLK) 15-0 14-5, Pillay bt Benguric 7-7 7-4, Anthony Loh (SIN) bt Nyoka 11-6 11-4, Trevor Gow (NFI) bt Steve Williams (GUE) 8-5 14-2.
Rd.3: Gow bt Alexander 6-10 9-8 4-0, Tolchard bt Iva Lealaiauloto (SAM) 17-3 10-6, Williams bt McCloy 9-5 6-15 4-2, Loh bt Matt Mercer (ZAM) 3-12 12-7 2-1, Nicholls bt White 7-9 12-4 3-2.
Progressive: Tolchard 6 points +37 shots, Scott 6 +30, Gow 6 +12, Loh 6 +8, Mercer 3 +17.5, White 3 -1, Benguric 3 +31, Lealaiauloto 3 -2, Pillay 3 -16, Williams 3 -20, Nicholls 3 -28, McCloy 0 -1, Alexander 0 -21, Nyoka 0 -17.
Section 2:
Rd.1: Zoltan Pavelka (HUN) bt Amnon Amar (ISR) 11-6 4-7 2-1, Royden Aperau (CKI) bt Axel Krahenbuhl (NAM) 8-5 9-4, Warren Cheung (HKC) bt Olle Bäckgren (SWE) 10-9 8-8, Fred Tafatu (NIU) bt Michael Leong (CAN) 8-5 10-5.
Rd.2: Kevin James (WAL) bt Izzat Dzulkeple (MAS) 6-14 12-3 3-1, Krahenbuhl bt Cheung 2-12 17-4 4-2, Lee Schraner (AUS) bt Amar 13-4 16-2, Thomas Waelti (SUI) bt Tafatu 9-9 11-4,
Rd.3: James bt Ross Davis (JER) 13-4 5-7 2-1, Aperau bt Pavelka 7-3 6-5, Dzulkeple bt Charlie Herbert (USA) 18-7 13-3, Bäckgren bt Leong 10-7 11-3, Schraner bt Waelti 21-3 16-2.
Progressive: Schraner 6 points +55 shots, Aperau 6 +13, James 6 +8, Dzulkeple 3 +10, Davis 3 +1.5, Bäckgren 3 +7, Tafatu 3 +1, Cheung 3 -2, Herbert 3 -6.3, Waelti 3 -25, Pavelka 3 -3, Krahenbuhl 3 -5, Amar 0 -25, Leong 0 -16.
Women:
Rd.1: Esmé Haley (RSA) bt Petal Jones (NFI) 11-6 9-10 5-4, Marea Modutlwa (BOT) bt Daphne Arthur-Almond (FLK) 12-4 3-8 2-1, Carla Krizanic (AUS) bt Diana Viljoen (NAM) 9-4 7-6, Anne Nunes (USA) bt Stef Branfield (ENG) 13-5 13-2, Mel Thomas (WAL) bt Nooroa Mataio (CKI) 7-6 10-7.
Rd.2: Thomas bt Branfield 17-1 6-14 2-1, Krizanic bt Modutlwa 21-1 7-6, Nunes bt Jennifer McClure (IRE) 6-8 9-6 3-1, Tayla Bruce (NZL) bt Elly Dolieslager (NED) 13-3 16-1.
Rd.3: Jones bt McClure 9-3 9-5, Ain Tarmizi (MAS) bt Haley 7-7 12-5, Dolieslager bt Arthur-Almond 4-13 12-7 4-0.
Progressive: Bruce 6 points +42 shots, Krizanic 6 +27, Tarmizi 6 +22, Nunes 6 +20, Thomas 6 +14, Jones 3 +6, Mataio 3 +11, Viljoen 3 +11, Haley 3 -3, Modutlwa 3 -18, Dolieslager 3 -29, Arthur-Almond 0 +1, McClure 0 -11, Branfield 0 -30.
