Para Bowls preview: England seek revenge to spoil Scotland's home party
In winning all three Para Bowls events four years ago, Scotland left the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games dripping in gold on the Auld Enemy’s turf. England will be looking for mirror-image success in Glasgow at the Games' inaugural indoor tournament.
At just 26, Kieran Rollings is the most experienced player selected by England. Following his debut as an 18-year-old at Gold Coast 2018, Rollings is set to appear at a third Games and the Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist is using past Scottish dominance as motivation to top the podium.
“Last time, we always thought we had the quality to come away with at least a medal, but we were hoping for a lot more than that," Rollings said.
"Because (Scotland) dominated all the gold medals last time, we want to get them back on their home turf.
“It would be nice to get our revenge on the Scottish team and go out there and get gold off them.”
Form is in England's favour. In a cross-border competition at Desborough Bowling Club in June, Rollings and teammate Joe Peplow were convincing winners over Scots Garry Brown and Stuart Sloan. Brown is back to defend the Men’s Pairs B6-8 title he won in Birmingham.
Australia duo Damien Delgado and James Reynolds, the 2023 outdoor world champions, are also likely to feature prominently after claiming silver at the Four Nations tournament earlier this year. Brown and Sloan took bronze.
Khirmern Bin Mohamad and Mawjit Singh beat the Australians to gold in that tournamen, pitching Singapore’s sole Para Bowls representatives in Glasgow as one of the title favourites.
Potential Mixed success for hosts
At that same Four Nations, Mary Stevenson and Robert Barr (SCO) defeated Jake Fehlberg and Jacky Hudson (AUS) in the Mixed Pairs B2-3 final, with a group-stage rematch in Glasgow a potential highlight. Barr won gold in 2022, while 2018 champion Fehlberg will seek an improvement on fourth from four years ago.
The 2018 silver medallist Nozipho Schroeder (RSA), and Julie Thomas (WAL) - who followed 2018 bronze with 2022 silver - return with new teammates Keith Orrell (RSA) and Steffan James (WAL) respectively.
Ron Homer and Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall (ENG) were unbeaten in four preparation tests prior to the Games.
B2-3 athletes are visually impaired and are supported by directors to help guide their shots.
Defending Women’s Pairs B6-8 champions Pauline Wilson and Mary Wilson (SCO) are the event favourites, having recently defeated Louise Hoskins and Serena Bonnell (AUS) at the Four Nations.
Hoskins will make her Games debut at the age of 76, making her one of the oldest athletes in tournament history, while compatriot Hudson is 75.
Teri Blackbourn and Julie O’Connell (NZL), the 2023 outdoor world champions, will also be expecting success on their Games debuts, while England’s hopes lie with Michelle White and Helen Wood. White finished top of the group four years ago with Gillian Platt, but they fell short of the medals.
Different nations have dominated Para Bowls at each of the past three Games: Scotland won all three events in 2022, Australia took the two titles on offer in 2018 and South Africa claimed both in 2014, when the Games last came to Scotland.
The Scottish Event Campus (SEC): The SEC Centre will host the three Para Bowls events, which feature athletes from nine countries and territories.
The Para Bowls competition starts 23 July. For the full schedule, click here.
