Bowls: Milestone for Leeden at indoor champs
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By Alistair McMurran on Wed, 14 Jan 2009
Bowls
Dennis Leeden Dunedin bowler Dennis Leeden achieved a rare milestone when he won his first-round singles game at the world indoor singles championships in England on Monday.
He was one of three New Zealanders to win first-round matches at the Potter's Leisure Resort in Norfolk.
Leeden beat Hong Kong's Li Ming Sum, Philip Skoglund (Manawatu) downed Welshman David Harding, and Brian Cathro (Waikato) won the all-Kiwi battle against world No 19 Jamie Hill (Auckland).
It was a significant performance by all three bowlers as it is rare for a New Zealander to go past the first round in a world final of Professional Bowls Association events.
The only other Otago bowler to achieve this was former World Bowls representative Ken Walker, three years ago.
Leeden made a slow start on his second appearance on the World Bowls Tour by dropping the first set but bounced back to take the second and the tiebreak to win 2-10, 10-5, 2-1.
He will play Scottish fifth seed Paul Foster in the second round on Friday morning.
Skoglund, the son of Phil Skoglund, one of New Zealand's greats, was also playing in his second PBA world final.
He started strongly to win 10-4, 6-7, 2-1.
He faces a tough second-round opponent in fourth-seeded Welshman Jason Greenslade.
In the first all-New Zealand clash, Cathro and Hill drew the first set before Cathro took control in the second, racing out to an 8-0 advantage before Hill could score.
The experienced Hill, who received an automatic entry to the event due to his world ranking, closed the gap but ran out of time, going down 7-7, 9-4.
Hill now loses his world top-20 placing and will need to go through domestic qualifying tournaments during the New Zealand winter to make the World Tour events.
Cathro faces 11th-seeded Australian Kelvin Kerkow in the second round.
Leeden faced a tough decision when he qualified last July for the all-expenses-paid trip to England for the World Bowls final, because the dates coincided with his daughter's wedding, which was planned for January 6.
His daughter Manda (26) agreed to delay her wedding for a month so that her father could play in the event.
Leeden is one of the top bowlers in Dunedin and has won six centre titles in outdoor bowls, but he has found a niche for himself in the indoor game.
Home » Sport » Other Sports
By Alistair McMurran on Wed, 14 Jan 2009
Bowls
Dennis Leeden Dunedin bowler Dennis Leeden achieved a rare milestone when he won his first-round singles game at the world indoor singles championships in England on Monday.
He was one of three New Zealanders to win first-round matches at the Potter's Leisure Resort in Norfolk.
Leeden beat Hong Kong's Li Ming Sum, Philip Skoglund (Manawatu) downed Welshman David Harding, and Brian Cathro (Waikato) won the all-Kiwi battle against world No 19 Jamie Hill (Auckland).
It was a significant performance by all three bowlers as it is rare for a New Zealander to go past the first round in a world final of Professional Bowls Association events.
The only other Otago bowler to achieve this was former World Bowls representative Ken Walker, three years ago.
Leeden made a slow start on his second appearance on the World Bowls Tour by dropping the first set but bounced back to take the second and the tiebreak to win 2-10, 10-5, 2-1.
He will play Scottish fifth seed Paul Foster in the second round on Friday morning.
Skoglund, the son of Phil Skoglund, one of New Zealand's greats, was also playing in his second PBA world final.
He started strongly to win 10-4, 6-7, 2-1.
He faces a tough second-round opponent in fourth-seeded Welshman Jason Greenslade.
In the first all-New Zealand clash, Cathro and Hill drew the first set before Cathro took control in the second, racing out to an 8-0 advantage before Hill could score.
The experienced Hill, who received an automatic entry to the event due to his world ranking, closed the gap but ran out of time, going down 7-7, 9-4.
Hill now loses his world top-20 placing and will need to go through domestic qualifying tournaments during the New Zealand winter to make the World Tour events.
Cathro faces 11th-seeded Australian Kelvin Kerkow in the second round.
Leeden faced a tough decision when he qualified last July for the all-expenses-paid trip to England for the World Bowls final, because the dates coincided with his daughter's wedding, which was planned for January 6.
His daughter Manda (26) agreed to delay her wedding for a month so that her father could play in the event.
Leeden is one of the top bowlers in Dunedin and has won six centre titles in outdoor bowls, but he has found a niche for himself in the indoor game.
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