Mixed Results For Boccia Duo On Opening Day Of Competition 

Australia’s boccia athletes had mixed results on the opening day of competition, with Daniel Michel taking the win and Jamieson Leeson recorded a loss.

Michel and ramp operator Ashlee Maddern staged a come from behind 10-2 win against South Africa’s Karabo Morapedi. 

After trailing leading into the third end, the world No.1 rallied, delivering a decisive win to set his Paralympic campaign up well. 

“The first game is always a tough one, but good to get it over and done with and get a strong win,” Michel said.  

“I wanted to come out and play well and set the tone [for the Games]. The guy I was playing today, I knew as long as I handled my end of the business I should be comfortable. He pushed me a little bit early on but I was able to come through at the end, so I was happy with that. 

“Fantastic atmosphere, it sounds awesome out there, it’s great to play in front of a crowd because you feed off that energy and it helps you play really well,” he said. 

Leeson and ramp operator Jasmin Haydon went down 1-6 to Korea’s Sunhee Kang, but were pleased to get the first match out of the way. 

“Sunhee is an amazing player and I’ve admired her for a long time,” Leeson said. “This is the first time I’ve been able to play her and I was actually really excited for the game.  

“Now I need to reset, start fresh tomorrow. I’ve got an early game which will be nice to start the day off with a match and every boccia court is different so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. 

“Tomorrow I’m playing Sally Kidson from Great Britain, another amazing athlete that I haven’t played before so I’m really excited for that one. Another tough match but it’s a very competitive pool [group],” she said. 

Both Leeson and Michel will compete again tomorrow at 2:00pm and 9:40pm respectively, in the second of three pool matches.

They will join up for the BC3 mixed pairs starting on Tuesday September 3. 

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By: Lauren Ryan, Paralympics Australia

Published: 30 August 2024