The Hong Kong World Boccia Open concluded with the Team and Pairs events over the weekend and there were three Scots representing Boccia UK, which is an important milestone in their preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The three Scots in action are: Jamie McCowan (BC3), Patrick Wilson (BC3) and Stephen McGuire (BC4), whilst we are also fortunate to have Claire Morrison form part of the coaching team.
Former World Champion and two time Paralympian, Stephen McGuire, teamed up with Evie Edwards and Louis Saunders for the BC4 Pairs competition, as they looked to put a marker down a year out from Tokyo 2020.
They started the group with a narrow 4-6 defeat to Brazil meaning there was no room for error if they wanted to progress. Fortunately, the rallied well to record back-to-back victories against Croatia (5-1) and Thailand (4-1), setting up a semi-final against Hong Kong, who had home advantage. Although the Brits put in a spirited display, they succumbed to a 1-5 defeat to the hosts.
McGuire and his BC4 teammates settled for a bronze medal match against China and a chance to complete a very successful competition. They produced a brilliant performance to win 6-1 and claim their place on the podium!
Hamilton man, McGuire, finishes the World Open with a gold and a bronze to further affirm his credentials at this level.
The BC3 pair, saw the two Scots joined by 2012 Paralympian, Jess Hunter, as they cruised through the group stages winning four games from four. However, they had to overcome Greece on a tie break. Nevertheless, they set up a semi-final with Thailand and were eventually defeated 0-5. In the bronze medal match they were faced with the prospect of Australia and were eventually undone 3-5 by the Aussies.
Great Britain finished the competition with a Gold, Silver and a Bronze medal with the Scottish players proving to be pivotal in their success. Congratulations!
Medal Recap
BC3 Individual
Silver: Patrick Wilson
BC4 Individual
Gold: Stephen McGuire
BC4 Pair
Bronze: Stephen McGuire, Luis Saunders & Evie Edwards
The individual competitions were concluded today, which saw resounding success for Great Britain, and it was the Scottish athletes that provided the goods, as all three were involved in medal matches.
Stephen McGuire rose from the ashes to scrape through his group on points but manged to battle his way to the final, where he met Yuk Wing Leung (HKG) who had the home advantage. However, the Hamilton man showed his class and experience by winning 4-1 and claiming Gold medal.
Patrick Wilson managed the competition well and took some major scalps before reaching his first World level final. Most notably, he defeated World number one and current World Champion, Grigorios Polychronidis, in the Quarter Final. In the final itself, he faced World number 3, Daniel Michel (AUS), who has emerged as a real talent as this level. The match was a close affair, but it ended in defeat for the Peebles man as he lost out 2-4. Nonetheless, this can be seen as a huge step forward.
Jamie McCowan won all his matches until the semi-final, where he was defeated by the eventual winner, Daniel Michel (AUS). He therefore had to settle for a bronze medal match against home player Yuen Kei Ho (HKG), where he eventually lost out 1-3.
The team and pairs get underway tomorrow and all the action (and live streams) can be followed via http://www.bisfed.com/bisfed-2019-hong-kong-boccia-world-open/