Spotlight on superstars at Broadbeach

THE next two days on Australia’s Gold Coast will reverberate to the excited strains of a bowls community poised to experience the best of the best, when the first week of a two-week festival of international competition reaches its climax.

Over the past three, and next two days, the 2019 Asia Pacific Championships – featuring nineteen bowling nations from the Asian and Oceania regions at three host clubs around the Gold Coast – Musgrave Hill, Club Helensvale and Broadbeach – has gone through the qualifying stanza in women’s singles and fours, along with men’s pairs and triples.

In the short term the rewards are medals for excellence at this event, while qualification for next year’s world championships in Australia enjoys equal status.

The next two days will be the stuff of which adventure heroes are made as many of the game’s greatest players strut their stuff – tomorrow’s elimination and semi finals are at Broadbeach, as are the gold medal play-offs on Saturday.

In the morning Kelsey Cottrell from Australia faces Norfolk Island’s Carmen Anderson in the women’s singles eliminations, with the winner to play Siti Zalina Ahmad from Malaysia in an afternoon semi final.

Similarly, Canada’s Kelly McKerihen plays world No.1 Jo Edwards from New Zealand in the corresponding eliminator, with the winner taking on Tania Choudhury from India in the other semi final.

The women’s fours competition sees Malaysia pitted against the Philippines to take on Australia in the afternoon, while Canada and Hong Kong battle for a shot at New Zealand in the corresponding match.

The men’s pairs will feature Malaysia and Philippines in a face-off for a tilt at New Zealand, while Canada and Thailand have Australia in their sights for the other semi final.

Men’s triples action will have Malaysia playing China with the winner up against New Zealand in the afternoon, while the other eliminator has India against Japan for a shot at Australia.

Among the many star-studded competitors in action during the finals, there are few that attract as many plaudits as New Zealand superstars Shannon McIlroy and Gary Lawson, who completed their men’s pairs commitments undefeated.

McIlroy is arguably the hottest singles player on the planet and covets the 2016 world bowls championship title he won on home soil in Christchurch, while late last year he added a second crown to his collection when he powered to the world singles champion of champions title at St Johns Park in Sydney.

His partner in crime this week is the enigmatic Gary Lawson who returns to the Blackjacks flock following a decade away from international duty. The flamboyant Lawson is one of the game’s premier performers, having won the 2008 world pairs and fours in Christchurch.

Photo: World champions Shannon McIlroy and Gary Lawson ready for action in tomorrow afternoon’s semi finals.

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2019 Asia Pacific Championships, Gold Coast, Australia

Day 3:

Women’s singles:

Sec.1: Rd.7: AUS (Kelsey Cottrell) bt FIJ (Litia Tikoisuva) 21-18, CAN (Kelly McKerihen) bt THA (Sue Bryant) 21-19, CHI (Miao Xin Hong) bt PNG (Catherine Wimp) 21-6, MAS (Siti Zalina Ahmad) bt PHI (Ainie Knight) 21-14, MAC (Bell Chan) bt NIU (Pauline Rex Blumsky) 21-5.

Rd.8: AUS bt PHI 21-16, CHI bt THA 21-15, FIJ bt MAC 21-7, MAS bt CAN 21-16, PNG bt NIU 21-0.

Rd.9: AUS bt NIU 21-4, CAN bt PHI 21-15, CHI bt MAC 21-8, MAS bt FIJ 21-7, THA bt PNG 21-11.

Final standings: MALAYSIA 27 points +102 shots, CAN 21 +44, AUS 18 +43, FIJ 15 +35, CHI 15 +12, THA 12 +15, PHI 12 +10, PNG 12 -10, MAC 3 -105, NIU 0 -146.

Sec.2: Rd.7: HKC (Helen Cheung) bt JPN (Keiko Kurohara) 21-11, NZL (Jo Edwards) bt USA (Alexis Van Den Bos) 21-2, NFI (Carmen Anderson) bt SIN (Tammy Tham) 21-8, IND (Tania Choudhury) bt SAM (Repeka Seira Aluni) 21-11.

Rd.8: NZL bt BRU (Dayang Isah Muntol) 21-7, NFI bt USA 21-9, JPN bt SAM 21-12, IND bt SIN 21-10.

Rd.9: BRU bt USA 21-9, NZL bt SIN 21-3, NFI bt SAM 21-6, IND bt HKC 21-13.

Final standings: INDIA 24 points +82 shots, NZL 21 +83, NFI 18 +61, HKC 15 +45, SIN 12 -24, JPN 6 -24, BRU 6 -56, SAM 3 -79, USA 3 -88.

Women’s fours:

Sec.1: Rd.7: AUS (Lynsey Clarke, Carla Krizanic, Bec Van Asch, Natasha Scott) bt FIJ (Radhika Prasad, Loretta Kotoisuva, Doreen O’Connor, Sheryl Mar) 20-5, MAS (Auni Kamis, Nurul Jamil, Azlina Arshad, Nur Fidrah Noh) bt JPN (Yukie Koyama, Yoko Goda, Midori Matsuoka, Hiroko Emura) 20-6, PNG (Piwen Karkar, Jessica Kuli, Angela Simbinali, Melissa-Ju Carlo) bt CHI (Zheng Fang, Liu Yuan Ying, Yanfen Chen, Song Su Zhen) 18-17

Rd.8: HKC (Gloria Ha, Cheryl Chan, Phyllis Wong, Angel So) bt MAS 17-15, THA (Chamaipron Kotchawong, Kannika Limwanich, Palita Gangur, Nannapat Tomak) bt CHI 13-12, JPN drew AUS 13-13, FIJ bt PNG 20-9.

Rd.9: AUS bt CHI 24-9, MAS bt FIJ 11-9, JPN bt HKC 20-11.

Final standings: AUSTRALIA 19 points +90 shots, MAS 15 +27, HKC 15 +4, JPN 10 -7, THA 9 -27, FIJ 7 -18, PNG 6 -42, CHI 1 -27.

Sec.2: Rd.7: NZL (Wendy Jensen, Kirsten Edwards, Katelyn Inch, Val Smith) bt CAN (Jackie Foster, Joanna Cooper, Jordan Kos, Leanne Chinery) 15-12, USA (Alice Birkinshaw, Melanie Vizenor, Janice Bell, Anne Nunes) bt NFI (Shae Wilson, Vivian Bigg, Ester Sanchez, Petal Jones) 20-6, MAC (Hilda Tam, Ivy Chui, Pian Lai, Kitty Chan) bt NIU (Victoria Liumaihetau, Rosie Rex, Pilena Motufoou, Joy Peyroux) 29-1, IND (Sarita Tirkey, Bongita Hazarika, Nayanmoni Saikia, Ruparani Tirkey) bt SIN (Margaret Lim, Josephine Lim, May Lee, Shermeen Lim) 15-11.

Rd.8: NZL bt PHI (Sonia Bruce, Hazel Jagony, Ronalyn Greenlees, Rosita Bradborn) 17-7, SIN bt MAC 23-3, IND bt NFI 13-11, CAN bt USA 15-12.

Rd.9: NZL bt NFI 11-10, PHI bt CAN 13-11, IND bt NIU 21-5, SIN bt USA 16-11.

Final standings: NEW ZEALAND 24 points +41 shots, CAN 18 +76, PHI 18 +23, IND 13 +22, NFI 9 +16, SIN 9 +14, MAC 7 -44, USA 6 -16, NIU 3 -132.

Men’s pairs:

Sec.1: Rd.7: CAN (Rob Law, Ryan Bester) bt FIJ (Rajnesh Prasad, David Aitcheson) 19-11, CHI (Mao Young Min, Liu Guo Qiang) bt JPN (Tomoyuki Tamachi, Jun Koyama) 26-10, NZL (Shannon McIlroy, Gary Lawson) bt NFI (John Christian, Barry Wilson) 25-11, PHI (Hommer Mercado, Angelo Morales) bt SAM (Iva Tiatia, Avala Savaiinaea) 17-9

Rd.8: NZL bt HKC (Imen Tang, Tony Cheung) 18-15, CAN bt NFI 23-9, JPN bt SAM 21-13, FIJ drew PHI 15-15

Rd.9: CAN bt SAM 24-7, HKC bt NFI 22-20, NZL bt FIJ 21-17, PHI bt CHI 15-14.

Final standings: NEW ZEALAND 24 points +60 shots, PHI 19 +15, CAN 18 +54, HKC 12 +16, NFI 12 +9, CHI 9 -13, JPN 9 -14, SAM 3 -85, FIJ 1 -42.

Sec.2: Rd.7: AUS (Ray Pearse, Nathan Rice) bt SIN (Matthew Ngui, Melvin Tan) 18-17, MAC (Ricky Poon, Alvin Leung) bt NIU (Gregory Funaki, Dalton Tagelagi) 13-12, MAS (Izzat Dzulkeple, Fairul Muin) bt IND (Anand Nazary, Mirdul Borgohain) 23-8, THA (Naret Aiangetuen, Koko Ontong) bt PNG (John Morgan, Matu Bazo) 22-10.

Rd.8: AUS bt USA (Scott Roberts, Neil Furman) 19-12, MAS bt SIN 18-11, PNG bt NIU 23-12, THA bt IND 18-11.

Rd.9: AUS bt IND 26-11, MAS bt PNG 27-9, USA 19-11, THA bt MAC 36-3.

Final standings: AUSTRALIA 22 points +96 shots, MAS 21 +133, THA 16 +20, PNG 15 +1, USA 12 +23, IND 12 -1, MAC 6 -150, SIN 3 -21, NIU 0 -101.

Men’s triples:

Sec.1: Rd.7: HKC (Adrian Yau, Lyndon Sham, James Po) bt THA (Patawee Montien, Sonthi Manakitpaiboon, Thanakrit Thammasarn) 17-16, MAS (Soufi Rusli, Hizlee Rais, Ijoi Redzuan) bt MAC (Johnny Ng, Chris Chiu, Eric Li) 26-8, NZL (Mike Kernaghan, Jamie Hill, Ali Forsyth) bt CAN (Pat Bird, Greg Wilson, Cameron Lefresne) 19-11, FIJ (Kushal Pillay, Abdul Kalim, Semesa Naiseruvati) drew NFI (Teddy Evans, Matt Bigg, Ryan Dixon) 14-14.

Rd.8: THA bt IND (Sunil Bahadur, Naveet Rathi, Dinesh Kumar) 16-12, MAS bt FIJ 21-10, NZL bt NFI 22-15, HKC bt MAC 27-8.

Rd.9: FIJ bt CAN 21-11, MAS bt NFI 15-11, NZL bt IND 21-6, THA bt MAC 13-12.

Final standings: NEW ZEALAND 24 points +70 shots, MAS 15 +64, IND 15 +35, HKC 15 -9, FIJ 13 +8, CAN 12 -4, NFI 7 -18, THA 6 -48, MAC 0 -98.

Sec.2: Rd.7: AUS (Barrie Lester, Aaron Teys, Aron Sherriff) bt USA (Bill Brault, Aaron Zangl, Loren Dion) 23-15, JPN (Hirokazu Mori, Hank Sato, Kenta Hasebe) bt NIU (Bill Vakaafi Morufoou, Mark Blumsky, Stan Tafatu) 25-7, SAM (Solomona Faamaoni, Hans Junior Gabriel, Fiu Peni Asi) bt PHI (Elmer Abatayo, Robert Guarin, Chris Dagpin) 15-12, CHI (Meng Zhao Qian, Zhang Bao Cheng, Ye Sui Ying) bt SIN (Anthony Loh, Heng Heck Pang, Bernard Foo) 16-15.

Rd.8: AUS bt PNG (Kenneth Ikirima, Gabriel Simeon, Freddy Koesan) 27-16, JPN bt USA 21-10, PHI bt NIU 30-5, CHI bt SAM 19-6.

Rd.9: AUS bt NIU 22-10, JPN bt SAM 23-4, USA bt PNG 25-15, PHI bt SIN 17-11.

Final standings: AUSTRALIA 24 points +108 shots, JPN 15 +40, CHI 15 +19, PHI 12 +24, USA 12 +20, PNG 12 +11, SAM 9 -64, SIN 7 -16, NIU 1 -142.