Result: Great Britain lose 8-2 to Canada in boccia bronze-medal match
Great Britain have failed to add another Paralympic bronze medal to the table following the McGuire brothers’ defeat to Canada in the boccia 4 mixed pairs bronze-medal match.
Peter and Stephen McGuire went up against Canadian team Josh vander Vies and Marco Dispaltro, who started off stronger at the ExCel Arena.
The Canadians were more accurate in their throws, which helped them reach a score of eight, while the British duo could only manage to get two points on the board.
via Result: Great Britain lose 8-2 to Canada in boccia bronze-medal match – Sports Mole.
Paralympics 2012: Winning roll secures boccia bronze and a wedding date
When Nigel “Gramps” Murray’s crafty backhand snuck between the red balls of the Portuguese, his boccia team-mate David Smith, the sport’s pin-up with a red mohican, had particular cause for celebration.
The roll that won the mixed British BC1-BC2 team a bronze medal also heralded wedding bells for Smith after his childhood sweetheart, Kathryn Watkins, told the 23-year-old that she would marry him only if he brought home a medal.
If that sounds like tough love, it is peculiarly appropriate to boccia, the easily-overlooked Paralympic sport that appears to be a genteel form of indoor bowls with its slow pace and hushed crowds watching red and blue balls thrown towards a white jack.
Appearances are deceptive because boccia, its name derived from the Latin word for boss, is quietly vicious. As silence falls before a crucial roll, sledging among competitors is routine. So is ball-dropping, arm-slapping, time-wasting and forbidden chats with the team assistant.
If anyone needed convincing of boccia’s brutality, proof was provided by the presence of It’s A Royal Knockout veteran Prince Edward in a partisan crowd full of football flags to cheer on the British team. Led by their bandana-wearing captain João Fernandes, Portugal took a 1-0 lead in the first “end” (each game consists of six ends), helped by a spot of traditional gamesmanship.
via Paralympics 2012: Winning roll secures boccia bronze and a wedding date | Sport | The Guardian.
Boccia explained – by the experts!
Not many people know about Boccia. But at John Grant School we play Boccia and have a lunchtime and after-school club.
We are young Boccia officials, which means we know how to referee games.
As an official we have to keep score and check players aren’t crossing other players’ lines, but we can never touch the ball. It can be quite tough as you have to keep concentrating.
One of the good things about Boccia is that anyone can play it and it’s good fun!
History of the Sport
Boccia is a very old game. Boccia comes from the Latin word meaning ball. It was played by the ancient Greeks and today it is a part of the Paralympic Games
Boccia was first introduced to the Paralympic Games at Stoke Mandeville in 1984
In the 2008 Beijing Games the Great Britain team won a gold medal
In the London 2012 Games the Boccia will take place at the ExCeL Centre
via School Report – Paralympics 2012: Boccia explained – by the experts!.
A Boccia GB star to watch at the Paralympics
Nigel Murray (Boccia) – Like Kenny, Murray also suffers from Cerebral Palsy, a common disability amongst Boccia players. Britain’s most successful Boccia player in Olympic History, having won Gold Medals at Beijing and Sydney Olympics for the BC1/BC2 Team category and the Individual BC2 category respectively, Murray heads into the Games with a weight of expectation on his shoulders but it won’t affect the experienced athlete. Nigel is currently ranked No. 1 in the world for the sport, having consistently performed at the top level, one win at the London 2012 Test event where Murray won the Individual BC2 helping cement his place at the top of the game. Murray has claimed it will be his final Olympics so the man nicknamed ‘Grandpa’ by competitors will hope to finish his Olympic career with success on home soil.
Murray targeting a golden send-off
Boccia star Nigel Murray is convinced home support can lift him to a golden swansong at the Paralympic Games.
The 48-year-old plans to bow out of the sport after London following a glittering career which has seen him win two Paralympic golds, one silver and a host of World and European medals.
With Murray ranked first in the BC2 category for the individual competition and Britain seeded third for the team event, hopes are high of a double medal-winning haul.
However, Murray says nothing can be taken for granted, especially with Beijing team silver medallists Portugal in Great Britain’s opening group.
“There’s been really good interest in tickets for the boccia and I know a number of the days are already sold out,” said Murray, who in addition to friends and family will be cheered on by a number of fellow Brakes supporters at the ExCeL Arena.
“Hopefully the support can get behind us and give us that extra edge because there is nothing between the teams.
“Realistically, any one of the top eight can win a medal.”
via Murray targeting a golden send-off – Other Sport – Leamington Courier.
Jacob aims for Boccia glory
The communities of Clunderwen and Llandysilio teamed up this week to wish Jacob Thomas well as he prepared to leave home en route to the Olympic village and the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Jacob, who is competing in the BC3 Boccia as an individual and in the pairs, will begin his quest for medals tomorrow (Sunday September 2nd) and the local community showed their admiration for him with an impromptu open air demonstration of support on Thursday.
via Community waves off Jacob as he aims for Paralympic glory (From Western Telegraph).
GB to fight for bronze medal
Britain’s hopes of defending their boccia team gold title were thwarted at the Paralympics.
After beating Hong Kong 11-3 in the quarter-finals this morning, Nigel Murray, the mixed BC1-2 team captain, said his team needed to up their game by at least 10% to overcome Thailand in the semi-finals.
In the end they were thumped 18-1 by Thailand, ranked second in the world, at east London’s ExCeL arena.
The team, including Daniel Bentley, David Smith and Zoe Robinson, did not live up to expectations, according to 48-year-old Murray.
“We are all frustrated,” he said. “We’re upset because we know we are a lot better than that, but once it has gone there is not a lot we can do about it.”
Britain are now in Tuesday’s bronze medal play-off against Portugal, while Thailand face China for gold.
Nigel Murray’s Boccia team lose out on golden chance
Nigel Murray’s Great Britain mixed BC1-2 team saw their chances of retaining Paralympic gold extinguished on Monday – although they could still leave London 2012 with bronze in the boccia.
The 48-year-old won gold alongside Daniel Bentley, Zoe Robinson and David Smith in Beijing four years ago but will not be repeating the feat on home turf.
The quartet started the day well by overcoming Hong Kong 11-3 in the quarter-finals but they struggled when play recommenced yesterday afternoon.
Great Britain were no match for a dominant Thailand team ranked second in the world, going down to a heavy 18-1 defeat in the semi-final – much to Murray’s disappointment.
“We are all frustrated,” he said. “We’re upset because we know we are a lot better than that, but once it has gone there is not a lot we can do about it.”
Thailand face China for mixed BC1-2 gold, while Murray’s team take on Portugal for bronze Tuesday morning.
via Paralympics 2012: Nigel Murray’s boccia team lose out on golden chance | Sport | The Guardian.
GB Boccia team lose 18-1 to Thailand
Great Britain’s defence of the BC1/BC2 team Paralympic title came to an abrupt end as they were beaten 18-1 by Thailand in the Boccia semi-finals.
Nigel Murray, Daniel Bentley and David Smith shipped six unanswered points by the halfway mark.
Despite introducing Zoe Robinson into the action, the hosts could do nothing to rein in their runaway opponents.
There was no final place for British brothers Peter and Stephen McGuire either after they lost 3-2 to Brazil.
The brothers, silver medallists at the 2010 world championships, were level at 2-2 in the final six-throw end, but will have to settle for a bronze at best after Eilseu Dos Santos and Jose Pinto Dirceu grabbed a decisive point late on in their BC4 pairs clash.
Boccia is a sport of such fine margins.
via BBC Sport – Paralympics 2012: GB Boccia team lose 18-1 to Thailand.
Boccia: McGuires fight for podium with Canada
Britains push for boccia medals continues today as the McGuire brothers play off for bronze against Canada, after losing their semi-final against Brazil yesterday.Click here to see Boccia: Everything you need to know graphicThe precision sport, fairly similar to bowls, is one of the least known in the Paralympics but it is one at which Britain usually excels. Team GB won gold and silver medals in boccia in Beijing and could deliver more success in London in the pairs BC4 event at the ExCeL Centre.Yesterday Stephen and Peter McGuire lost their semi-final 3-2 to the world No 1 pair of Dirceu Jose Pinto and Eliseu dos Santos. The Brazilians will face the Czech Republic in this afternoons gold-medal match, after the McGuire brothers play Canada for the bronze at 9am. There is also a British team still competing in the mixed team BC1-2 event.
via Boccia: McGuires fight for podium with Canada – Paralympics – Olympics – The Independent.
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