Niue husband and wife duo Papani thrilled to compete with Bowls powerhouses
The breakthrough success of Malaysia in claiming two Bowls silver medals at Glasgow 2026 served notice that so-called emerging nations are making significant strides to close the gap with the sport's traditional powerhouses.
Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple became the first Malaysian to win a medal in Men's Singles at the Commonwealth Games, while compatriots Aleena Ahmad Nawawi and Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman also reached the gold-medal match in Women's Pairs.
African teams such as Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Zambia have brought highly competitive squads to the rinks at the SEC Centre, as have Pacific Island nations including the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue and Tonga.
The trend, also reflected in Para Bowls, has led to narrow winning margins and tiebreak finishes and the sense in Glasgow is that globally the sport is getting closer to parity.
“It's been a humbling experience,” said Niue’s Keith Papani, who is competing in the Men’s Pairs alongside Tifaga Tupuiliu.
“All the best players are here. That's the humbling part of it - getting the chance to play against some of the best players in the world.”
"That's the humbling part of it - getting the chance to play against some of the best players in the world.”
Niue is the smallest nation by population at the Games, with around 1,900 citizens. Five of those are taking part in Bowls at Glasgow 2026, including Keith and wife Catherine Papani, who lost 2-0 to Northern Ireland's Shauna O'Neill in Women's Singles on Thursday.
Catherine (pictured right with O'Neill) says the couple will do their best to encourage youngsters back home to follow in their footsteps, starting with their two daughters.
“It's an intergenerational sport," the 61-year-old said. "And we are going to go back and develop our youth and have a succession plan.
"Our girls played a little bit of Bowls, but their dad's quite competitive, so they've kind of shied away from Bowls for now.
"They're getting the interest back now we're competing on an international stage.”
Keith, 60, said: “There are lots of kids who want to play. We've been sending photos and videos back home, so hopefully they'll see it and give Bowls a go.
"Some of the games are on TV and a lot of people back home are getting up early to watch. It's probably three o'clock in the morning there, so they're making a real effort to follow the games.”
Sport for everyone
Boikhutso Mooketsi, competing in Women's Singles for Botswana, said she would encourage anyone to give the sport a go.
“I started playing Bowls in 2014," she said. "It's enjoyable and it's mentally refreshing. Yes, this is a sport for everyone around the world.
"Please come and join us … come and relax your mind, come and play Bowls.”
Men’s Pairs duo Kaizer Geche and Charles Diteko (BOT) agreed that interest is growing in their homeland.
“We’re getting there,” Geche said. “We have under-25 and under-18 national teams, and here we are very proud to represent our nation at this big tournament.”
Diteko said: “There are programmes being introduced to recruit the young ones into the sport.
“This used to be the old folks' sport, but now it's very good to see the young ones engaged in the sport mixed with old folks.”
After Thursday's action in Women’s Singles, Ellen Fife (AUS), Ali Merrien (GGY). Emma Firyana Saroji (MAS) and Sophie McGrouther (SCO) all top their sections with 100% records so far.
Scotland and England are among a pack of teams still unbeaten in the Men’s Pairs. In the Para B6-B8 category, Australia's Damien Delgado and James Reynolds are setting the pace in Men’s Pairs sectional play, with New Zealand’s Teri Blackbourn and Julie O’Connell doing likewise in Women's Pairs.
