KEY POINTS:
The national bowls championships in Auckland lost one of its major drawcards in the men's event when three times world champion Peter Belliss crashed out of the singles competition yesterday.
Belliss failed to qualify for post-section play, which starts on Wednesday, when he was defeated in group matches by Coromandel's Colin Gawith 19-21 and by Canterbury's Shane Sincock 9-21.
It was the second time Gawith had triumphed over Belliss at the championships, after teaming with Cliff Oliff to upset Sydney-based Belliss and Sincock 23-2 in their section pairs match on Sunday.
"It was pretty blustery and Belliss was up on me a couple of times - we were 19-all and I drew a couple of shots and that was it," Gawith said.
After losing to Gawith, Belliss needed to beat his pairs partner in his fourth game to qualify for post-section play but as Sincock had played impressively in the recent New Zealand Open, it was never going to be an easy task, as the eventual scoreline indicated.
It was a big day for 16-year-old Ryan Khan, the latest of New Zealand's famous bowling family to make a name for himself in the sport.
A national under-18 representative last year, Khan has made considerable progress this summer and claimed perhaps his biggest win when he toppled national squad member and 2007 World Champion of Champions Tony Grantham, 21-12 on the Balmoral green.
Young players have impressed throughout the championship in Pakuranga and yesterday the Nelson pair of Amy Brenton and Gemma Collett, of the Stoke club, confirmed their place in the post-section play.
Defending champions Jo Babich and Bev Crowe (Carlton Cornwall) rollicked through their section to qualify for Wednesday's post-section play in the women's pairs, winning five-straight games and forfeiting their last match.
"We played pretty well and we're pretty happy - first goal achieved," Babich said.
But the champions know there are still plenty of dangerous combinations in the post-section draw, with South Island hopefuls Jan Khan and Kathleen Morrison (Beckenham), and Bev Morel and Serena Matthews (Elmwood) also progressing.
Two-times pairs title holders Sharon Sims and Mary Campbell also advanced, as did the Frankton Railway pairing of Jan Malcolm and Rita Berridge, who were all impressive in section play.
- NZPA
