VANCOUVER – Paralympic Games champion Paul Gauthier of Vancouver, Alison Kabush of Surrey, B.C., Adam Dukovich of Mississauga, Ont., and Tammy McLeod of London, Ont., all advanced to the playoff round on Sunday at the 26-country boccia World Cup.
Boccia is a sport similar to lawn bowls and played by athletes with cerebral palsy. This year’s World Cup is also a qualifying tournament for the 2008 Paralympic Games.
In BC 3 category, Gauthier completed the round robin with a perfect 3-0 record defeating Alberto Stalanich of Argentina 7-1 for first spot in his pool. It was the only point Gauthier allowed in his three matches.
‘’Paul is following his game plan to a tee,’’ said Canadian head coach Mario Délisle. ‘’He’s worked hard to devise a strategy for this tournament. Being in his hometown there’s a lot of distractions, a lot of people want to see him but he’s been able to keep his focus.’’
In the same category, Kabush suffered her first loss Sunday but her 2-1 record put her through to the playoffs. Kabush fell 3-2 to Stefan Pekara of the Czech Republic. Monica Martino of Vancouver lost her match and did not advance.
In BC 2 play, McLeod went a perfect 3-0 in the round robin to advance while Dukovich was 2-1. Francine Desrochers of Montreal did not advance but earned her first win Sunday defeating Maciel de Souza Santos of Brazil 7-3.
‘’Tammy’s had trouble in the past getting out of her pool so this is a big step,’’ said Délisle. ‘’This is sport that demands an enormous amount of concentration from start to finish and Tammy has shown that she’s really prepared well for this tournament.’’
No Canadians advanced in the other two categories. In BC 4 play, Jonathan Poulin of Laval, Que., ended his round robin at 2-2 after a victory and a loss on Sunday. He fell 11-1 to Bruno Valentim of Portugal then beat Ryota Yamaguchi of Japan 5-3
Joshua Vander Vies of Sarnia, Ont., lost his final match and did not advance.
In BC 1 play, 16-year-old Brock Richardson of Brampton, Ont., lost his final two matches on Sunday and did not advance.
‘’We’re very pleased with the performances of the Canadians,’’ said Délisle. ‘’We were hoping to have six players advance to the playoffs but a couple were drawn into some very tough pools and couldn’t move on despite strong performances. The level of play here is extraordinary.’’
Playoff action gets underway Monday with round of 32 elimination matches.
For more information
Dominique Tremblay
CCPSA
(819) 360-6333
Dominique@ccpsa.ca
