Bowls: Asia Pacific medal hopes nosedive

SYDNEY - New Zealand's medal expectations at the Asia Pacific bowls championships nosedived yesterday when the women's pair and triple and the men's pair lost in the quarterfinals.

Defending champions Sharon Sims and Jo Edwards lost 12-25 to Fiji's Radhika Prasad and Litia Tikoisuva after failing to cope with a slow green at Brisbane's Pine Rivers Memorial Bowls Club.

Wendy Jensen, Val Smith and Marlene Castle entered the knockout stage unbeaten but came unstuck against Papua New Guinea.

Skip Castle held a shot with two bowls remaining but Cecilia Drapok produced a stunning final drive to turn New Zealand's advantage into a four-shot deficit, handing Papua New Guinea a narrow 17-14 victory.

Titleholders Russell Meyer and Paul Girdler failed to complete a startling fightback in a match won 20-18 by Malaysia's Feirul Izwan and Affendi Tan Abdullah.

The men's triple of Jamie Hill, Sean Johnson and Gary Lawson are assured of at least a bronze medal after beating Norfolk Island 17-7 to book a semifinal today against Malaysia.

- NZPA