Day one sees two wins out of three matches for Scotland’s Boccia athletes.
By Bethany Lee
Two Scottish athletes have won their first individual Boccia matches of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Patrick Wilson and Stephen McGuire were victorious today in Paris whilst Kayleigh Haggo was met with defeat against the current world number three ranked player (BC2).
Edinburgh’s own Patrick Wilson started off the Scottish wins with victory against ParalympicsGB teammate William Arnott, in the men’s individual BC3 Pool game.
Patrick took a drastic lead in the third end with a series of powerful shots obtaining four points.
William fought back in the last end but it was too little too late, as Patrick closed the game with a 5-3 win.
The ParalympicsGB teammates showed comradery and Arnott congratulated Wilson on his victory.
Patrick said: “It was a difficult match but I got through it. It was important to get through it. It’s always a bit awkward to play against a teammate but we did it in the right way. I’m excited to get out there and try to get my second win. I’ve got to be good to do that.”
More success came later in the afternoon with a dominant display by Stephen McGuire in the men’s individual BC4. The Lanarkshire pro dominated his game against Malaysia’s Abdul Razzaq Abdul Rahman with a stunning final score of 8-0.
The win for Stephen takes his international winning tally to 17 out of the previous 18 international matches.
The women’s individual BC2 Pool C game concluded Scotland’s outing on day one, with Aryshire’s Kayleigh Haggo taking to the court.
After years of success as a frame runner, Kayleigh joined the boccia world in 2022 and made her international debut last year.
For her first Paralympic match, she faced Korea’s Soyeong Jeong, number one in the world in the women’s BC2. Despite facing such a mighty opponent, Kayleigh took a one-point lead before losing out to Jeong by 3-1.
Tomorrow brings another packed day for the Scottish athletes with all three facing new opponents and challenges.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram .
You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here.