Claire and David both into World Championship finals

Britain is guaranteed two medals at the World Boccia Championships in Rio de Janeiro later today as David Smith OBE and Claire Taggart both storm into the finals.

Three-time Paralympic gold medallist David Smith (Eastleigh/Swansea) is of course defending his title having won it in Liverpool in 2018, securing him the triple crown alongside Paralympic and European gold medal honours.

“It’s been a really good day this morning – both the quarter finals and the semi-finals were tight games and I’m really happy to be in the final,” said Smith. “It’s been a hard competition so far. I’m not necessarily moving things around the court as I would normally do so the scores are tight but I’m still in it and I’m going to keep fighting and hopefully, I’ll pick up a decent win.”

Davbid Smith in semi-final action

Facing Portugal’s Andre Ramos in the semi-final, Smith led the way with a 4-1 victory. Earlier in the day, he took a 5-1 win over South Korea’s Sungjoon Jung. He now faces Witsanu Huadpradit of Thailand.

Meanwhile, Claire Taggart of Larne in Northern Ireland is also celebrating a place in the final after she overcame Karina Martinez Sandoval of Mexico. Notching up a score of 7-1, Taggart’s dominance in the game was never in doubt. She now faces El Salvador’s Rebecca Duarte (ESA) who is ranked world number seven:

“I am delighted to have got to the final,” says Taggart. “I’m happy with the way I’ve played and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Earlier in the day, Taggart was handed a fast pass into the semi-finals after Yeung of Hong Kong – her quarter final opponent – withdrew from the tournament.

claire taggart secures a place in the final

Performance Director Greg Baker has been really pleased with the squad’s performances:

“As we come to the end of the individual competition, the GB team has had some fantastic individual performances which we can certainly build on next year and Paris 2024 qualification. Players have beaten top 10 international ranked players in the world and seven of our nine athletes here have progressed into the knockout stages. The players have set a platform for from which they can progress and it’s now a collective effort to make even more improvements next year. 

“David and Claire have been outstanding and shown what great athletes they are. We have two World Champion individual finalists for the first time since 2010. The squad will be supporting them both in their finals. 

“We have that to look forward to and the team and pairs event then starts the following day, which will be important not only as it’s a World Championships but it’s crucial for Paris qualification points,” Baker added.

There was disappointment for Will Arnott who was stopped at the quarter final stages by the Czech Republic’s Adam Peska. The current Paralympic Champion beat the Reading player 6-2. Earlier in the day, Arnott beat British team-mate Patrick Wilson of Edinburgh 5-0.

Antrim’s Robyn McBride’s progress in the tournament was halted in the last 16 by Ana Costa of Portugal who won 4-1. They last met at the World Cup earlier this year in the same venue. In that match, Costa won 12-0. But today’s scoreline is testament to McBride’s increasing confidence as an international player.