Proteas bowls stars in with a shout

Proteas pair Colleen Piketh and Wayne Rittmuller are in the hunt to qualify for the singles knockout stages at the 2023 World Bowls Indoor Championships.

The World Bowls Indoor Championships at the Warilla Bowls & Recreation Club on the New South Wales south coast has now reached the halfway mark.

The South African bowls star duo didn’t advance in the mixed pairs event but both are on track in the singles.

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Proteas on track in singles

Rittmuller enjoyed a good day out with two wins to bolster his chances. He needs to finish inside the top two in his group to advance. Similarly, decorated Proteas bowler and Commonwealth Games medalist Colleen Piketh is in the mix.

The mixed pairs competition has reached the semi final stage with the promise of a cracking final on Friday morning featuring the winners of Thursday’s eliminators between England’s Kirsty Hembrow and Martin Puckett versus Aussies Kelsey Cottrell and Aron Sherriff and the shootout between Scotland’s Julie Forrest and Mike Stepney against Alison and Ian Merrien from Guernsey.

Similarly, the singles competitions are poised to produce a series of compelling finals, with every player now diving deep to eke out every shot possible as the ends count down.

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The overnight leaders in all six men’s sections have remained unscathed to this stage, with Australia’s Aron Sherriff and Mike Stepney from Elgin in Scotland’s north framed as warm favourites, while Malaysia’s swashbuckling Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple is in good form, as is top Kiwi Andrew Kelly (his match against Martin Puckett tonight was one for the ages).

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Young Scot Connor Milne is well placed for a finals berth leading Section 5, while much interest will focus on Section 6 leader Ian Merrien from Guernsey when he battles Daniel Salmon from Wales tomorrow morning with the result being critical for the young dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist from Cardiff.

The irrepressible Alyani Jamil from Malaysia seems destined to make a big play for the women’s title, having seen off Guernsey’s perennial winner Alison Merrien during qualifying, while vastly experienced Scot Julie Forrest and Aussie Kelsey Cottrell – like champion thoroughbreds – are positioned for a run to the finish line.

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But don’t overlook Ireland’s Lesley Mills or Kirsty Hembrow, the English champion, while you can be assured Scotland’s wonderful Lorraine Craig will leave no stone unturned in her effort to claim the ultimate prize.

Results

Men’s singles:

Sec.1: Rd.2: Aron Sherriff (AUS) bt Carel Olivier (NAM) 7-5 13-0; Royden Aperau (CKI) bt Chris Dagpin (PHI) 10-2 6-6. Rd.3: Dagpin bt Scottie Marzonie (USA) 6-4 6-5; Olivier bt Aperau 6-8 7-3 1-0.

Progressive: Sherriff 4 points +4 sets; Dagpin 4 +1; Aperau 2 +1; Olivier 2 -2; Marzonie 0 -4.

Sec.2: Rd.2: Wayne Rittmuller (Proteas) bt Zainal Mohammed (FIJ) 11-1 9-5; Eric Lam (HKC) bt Pontus Palmkvist (SWE) 3-8 8-4 1-0; Mike Stepney (SCO) bt Ozkan Akar (TUR) 7-3 9-5. Rd.3: Mohammed bt Akar 11-3 8-3; Rittmuller bt Lam 11-2 8-6; Stepney bt Palmkvist 7-4 12-1.

Progressive: Stepney 6 points +5 sets; Rittmuller 4 +3; Mohammed 4 +2; Akar 2 -2; Lam 2 -4; Palmkvist 0 4.

Sec.3: Rd.2: Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (MAS) bt Pako Sephetsolo (BOT) 10-6 7-4; John Nicholl (IRE) bt Markus Mertz (CHE) 4-4 9-3; Johnny Ng (MAC) bt Chris Smith (TON) 7-5 6-6. Rd.3: Smith bt Sephetsolo 8-6 10-3; Dzulkeple bt Nicholl 10-1 13-4; Mertz bt Ng 6-4 10-1.

Progressive: Dzulkeple 6 points +6 sets; Mertz 4 +3; Nicholl 4 +1; Smith 2 -1; Ng 2 -3; Sephetsolo 0 -6.

Sec.4: Rd.2: Andrew Kelly (NZL) bt Jerome Kirby (CAN) 8-1 7-6; Martin Puckett (ENG) bt Susil Ramanayake (SRI) 5-4 9-1; Wattana Kadkhunthod (THA) bt Zoltan Pavelka (HUN) 8-3 7-2. Rd.3: Kirby bt Kadkhunthod 12-2 6-5; Kelly bt Puckett 5-13 6-5 1-0; Pavelka bt Ramanayake 7-2 9-1.

Progressive: Kelly 6 points +4 sets;Puckett 4 +4; Kadkhunthod 4 +2; Kirby 2 -2; Pavelka 2 -12; Ramanayake 0 -6.

Sec.5: Rd.2: Troy Lorimer (MLT) bt Martin Edwards (JAM) 18-1 10-5; Connor Milne (SCO) bt Malcolm De Sousa (JER) 7-4 11-7; Anthony Loh (SIN) bt Benson Wambugu (KEN) 6-4 6-4. Rd.3: Loh bt Edwards 11-2 11-2; De Sousa bt Lorimer 9-6 10-1; Milne bt Wambugu 11-2 8-4.

Progressive: Milne 6 points +6 sets; De Sousa 4 +2; Loh 4 +2; Lorimer 2 0; Wambugu 2 -4; Edwards 0 -6.

Sec.6: Rd.2: Frank De Vries (NED) bt Cecil Alexander (FLK) 5-6 5-3 1-0; Ian Merrien (CGY) bt Phil Jones (NFI) 9-3 6-5; Dan Salmon (WAL) bt Masahiro Kawamoto (JPN) 4-8 5-4 1-0. Rd.3: Salmon bt Alexander 8-4 6-7 1-0; Jones bt Kawamoto 5-3 6-7 1-0; Merrien bt De Vries 3-7 10-4 1-0.

Progressive: Merrien 6 points +2 sets; Salmon 4 0; De Vries 4 0; Jones 4 -2; Kawamoto 0 0; Alexander 0 0.

Women’s singles:

Sec.1: Rd.3: Dee McSparran (USA) bt Li Li Leng (SIN) 8-6 5-4; Alyani Jamil (MAS) bt Alison Merrien (CGY) 7-3 9-5. Rd.4: Teokotai Rahui (CKI) bt Leng 5-10 8-4 1-0; Merrien bt McSparran 6-5 11-3.

Progressive: Jamil 6 points +6 sets; McSparran 4 +2; Merrien 4 0; Rahui 2 -4; Leng 0 -4.

Sec.2: Rd.3: Katelyn Inch (NZL) bt Ester Ndungu (KEN) 5-3 12-3; Lesley Mills (IRE) bt Amalia Levy (ISR) 7-3 10-2. Rd.4: Inch bt Levy 8-3 14-0; Linda Ng (CAN) bt Ndungu 7-4 6-4.

Progressive: Mills 6 points +6 sets; Inch 6 +5; Ng 2 -1; Levy 2 -4; Ndungu 0 -6.

Sec.3: Rd.3: Palita Gangur (THA) bt Marisa Baronda (PHI) 4-4 9-5; Ineke Spangenberg (NED) bt Petronella Breedt (NAM) 5-4 7-4. Rd.4: Kirsty Hembrow (ENG) bt Baronda 8-5 8-4; Breedt bt Gangur 8-2 5-9 1-0.

Progressive: Hembrow 6 points +4 sets; Baronda 4 -1; Gangur 2 +1; Spangenberg 2 0, Breedt 2 -4.

Sec.4: Rd.3: Julie Forrest (SCO) bt Connie Rixon (MLT) 5-3 7-4; Yoko Goda (JPN) bt Megan Kivlin (JER) 7-2 7-2.

Progressive: Forrest 4 points +4 sets, Rixon 4 -1; Goda 2 +2; Kivlin 2 -1; Lebogang Makhupe (BOT) 0 -4.

Sec.5: Rd.3: Colleen Piketh (Proteas) bt Milika Nathan (TON) 8-3 7-3; Shae Wilson (NFI) bt Pian Yuk Ping Lai (MAC) 7-3 5-8 1-0.

Progressive: Piketh 4 points +4 sets; Kelsey Cottrell (AUS) 4 +4; Ping Lai 2 0; Wilson 2 -14; Nathan 0 -4.

Sec.6: Rd.2: Dorothy Yu (HKC) bt Kumari Mangos (SRI) 10-4 9-4; Lorraine Craig (SCO) bt Marianne Kuenzle (CHE) 10-5 7-8 1-0; Amy Williams (WAL) bt Pinar Kaygusuz (TUR) 17-1 20-0. Rd.3: Kuenzle bt Kaygusuz 13-1 14-1; Craig bt Mangos 9-6 8-6; Williams bt Yu 6-6 8-2.

Progressive: Craig 6 points +4 sets; Kuenzle 4 +4; Yu 4 +3; Williams 4 +1; Mangos 0 -6; Kaygusuz 0 -6.

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