KEY POINTS:
Bowls is not a sport that naturally appeals to Israelis, a people who generally prefer physical, aggressive pursuits.
For that reason alone it is surprising to discover Jeff Rabkin, Israel's representative at the Champion of Champions world singles event in Christchurch, is unbeaten after six rounds and a strong contender for a medal.
Then it emerges that Rabkin is not an Israeli at all. He's a South African who emigrated to Tel Aviv in 1985 where he is secretary of the lawn bowls association.
He came into the Christchurch event with an impressive pedigree, having won a pairs silver medal in the Asia Pacific Games and a pairs bronze in the world championships.
Rabkin, 49 and a father of three, scored two thrilling tiebreaker victories yesterday, against Korean Jimn Lin and, more significantly, against highly regarded Scotsman Darren Burnett.
Rabkin held his nerve against Burnett to win two tiebreaker sets, the second after Burnett had audaciously driven with his first delivery to plonk his pink bowl in the ditch.
Undeterred, Rabkin drew to within 7cm of the ditch to secure a notable victory and retain a share of the lead in the men's division two, along with Zimbabwe's Roy Garden.
These two are set to clash in the final qualifying match on Thursday.
New Zealand's Alan Dickson's winning streak came unstuck against Namibia's Graham Snyman but he rebounded strongly to score a handsome victory against Fijian Ratish Lal and retain a share of the lead, with Ireland's Martin McHugh, in division one.
It was a forgettable day for New Zealand's women's representative Audrey Stevenson, who suffered two tiebreaker losses, to Samoa's Tina Gabriel and Botswana's Lebogang Mascarenhas.
Stevenson has the good fortune to be in a hotly contested division where two points cover the leading eight players, so if she can recapture her finest form she is still in with a good chance of qualifying.
Another player to make an impression yesterday was Australia's Julie Keegan, who demolished her two opponents, scoring 61 points while conceding only 14.
Papua New Guinea's Karina Okuk, chalked up his sixth successive victory, and Japan's Australian-born representative David Cameron, proved his victory over Burnett on Sunday was no fluke by outlasting South Africa's Nicholas Rusling.
Keegan and Okuk meet this morning in a contest that should be a pointer to the outcome of the women's competition.
- NZPA
