Ekurhuleni bowlers get silver medals at world champs in Australia
The Ekurhuleni Bowls (EKB) members were the only South Africans to receive medals in the competition.
Bowlers May Homer and Gareth Rees-Gibbs helped South Africa achieve two silver medals at the 14th World Bowls Championships in Australia last month.
The Ekurhuleni Bowls (EKB) members were the only South Africans to receive medals in the competition.
Homer and her partner, Hermanus Scholtz, were defeated 14-16 by Australian pair Jacky Hudson and Jake Fehlberg in the para-mixed VIP pairs.
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Homer and Scholtz started their campaign with a 21-11 win over New Zealand duo Jayne Parsons and Kerrin Wheeler in the first round.
They continued their feast with a 13-7 victory against English pair Alison Yearling and Stephen Hartley in round two and beat Hudson and Fehlberg in the third round.
Their momentum was halted in the fourth round as they lost 9-17 to Melanie Innes and Robert Barr from Scotland.
They bounced back in round five with a 16-8 win over Tang Shun Yee and Li Chi Ming Rockey from Hong Kong. This win qualified them for the knock-outs.
In the semi-finals, they defeated Yearling and Hartley but went down to Hudson and Fehlberg in the final, securing a silver medal for South Africa.
Rees-Gibbs and his partner, Deon van de Vyver breezed through the round-robin, winning all their matches before losing 14-16 to Australian pair, Jacky Hudson and Jake Fehlberg, in the men’s para pairs.
They started the competition with a 17-13 win over Hyeonmok Yoo and Chantae Park from the Korean Republic in round one.
They followed that up with a 19-15 victory over Darron Wolland and Mark Noble from New Zealand in the second round.
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In the third round, they beat Japanese duo Mitsuteru Mizoguchi and Hisao Kojima 15-10 and defeated Singaporeans Mawit Singh So Gurmet and Khirmern Bin Mohamed in round four 18-10 to set up a semi-final meeting with Hong Kong pair Puk Chi Yeung and Wong Kin Kwong.
They comfortably beat Yeung and Kwong 12-9 before claiming a silver medal for the country after narrowly losing the final to Hudson and Fehlberg.
“It’s with great pleasure that we acknowledge the exceptional achievement of the Proteas para men’s pairs and vision-impaired mixed pairs in obtaining silver medals in their respective categories at the world championships at the Gold Coast, Australia,” said Bowls South Africa COO Bobby Donnelley.
