2024 Hong Kong Classic - Day Seven Round Up
Scotland’s Darren Gualtieri and Iain McLean have advanced to tomorrow’s Men’s Pairs final at the Hong Kong Classic.
At the beginning of the day, the Scottish duo defeated TKOBC 6-0 in their final group match which saw them finish top of Group A and advance to the knockout stages.
In their quarter final, Darren and Iain took on New Zealand’s Seamus Curtin and Sheldon Bagrie-Howley. The Scots made a slow start to proceedings, losing the first set 5-10, but bounced back well to comfortably claim the second set 11-4. The match now entered a 3-end tie break which Darren and Iain held their nerve to win 6-1.
Next up for the Scottish pairing was Ireland’s Aaron Tennant and Adam Rankin, who Darren and Iain had previously beaten in the group stages earlier in the competition. Scotland got the better of the opening exchanges and took the first set 9-5. Ireland were far from finished though and showed great resilience to come back and win the second set 12-0. Yet another 3-end tie break beckoned to decide who would advance to tomorrow’s highly anticipated final. Heavy rain showers began to fall, and conditions became extremely difficult for both teams. Despite the testing weather, Darren and Iain done enough to get over the winning line 4-2 and book their place in the Men’s Pairs final.
Darren and Iain’s final against England’s Tom McGuinness and Harry Goodwin will take place at 6am (GMT) on Sunday 17th November and will be live streamed on the Lawn Bowls Association of Hong Kong, China YouTube channel via the following link - https://www.youtube.com/@hongkonglawnbowlsassociati1869/streams
In the Women’s Pairs, Dee Hoggan and Rachel Sinclair unfortunately rounded off their campaign with a 2-4 defeat against TKOBC in their final group game. Both women can still be proud of their efforts and hold their heads high after winning the event in 2023.
Keep up to date with all the results from the 2024 Hong Kong Classic here: https://www.bowls.org.hk/hong-kong-international-bowls-classic-2024-issued-on-18-7-2024/
A full breakdown of Scotland’s scores from day seven can be found below:
Session 1:
- Group Match 11/11: Men’s Pairs – Darren Gualtieri & Iain McLean beat TKOBC 6-0 (11-5 & 22-4)
- Group Match 11/11: Women’s Pairs – Dee Hoggan & Rachel Sinclair lost to TKOBC 2-4 (12-7 & 4-11)
Session 2:
- Quarter Final: Men’s Pairs – Darren Gualtieri & Iain McLean beat New Zealand 2-1 (5-10, 11-4 & 6-1)
Session 3:
- Semi Final: Men’s Pairs – Darren Gualtieri & Iain McLean beat Ireland 2-1 (9-5, 0-12 & 4-2)