Claire Taggart wins first ever World Cup

Larne’s Claire Taggart today cemented her position as one of the world’s strongest boccia players, winning her first-ever World Cup.

Her success in Povoa, Portugal will surely see her rise in the world rankings from her current no.3 position.

Unbeaten all week, the Northern Ireland player stormed through the pool matches with a 5-1 win over Ana Correia of Portugal and then she saw off Slovakia’s Kristina Kudlacova 9-3. Meeting Vivien Nagy at the quarter final stages, she forced the Hungarian out of the competition with an incredible 13-0 victory before eliminating China’s Hiu Lam Yeung 6-1.

Claire Taggart with her gold medal from Povoa World Cup 2022

In today’s final, she faced Correia again, a repeat of Taggart’s opening match. It went to 2-2 but Taggart won on tie-break.

She said:

“I’m beyond delighted to win my first ever World Cup and to do it here in Portugal with my Dad and all my teammates is amazing. I’m just so proud of all the work I’ve put in and I’m so grateful for all the support my teammates, my coach Glynn (Tromans) and support staff have given me.”

Meanwhile, David Smith won a bronze medal after today beating Chagas de Oliveira. A place in the final, however, was earlier denied Eastleigh’s Paralympic gold medallist as he was forced to play with just five balls, instead of the usual six.

Despite Smith’s balls all passing the equipment check prior to competition, one exceeded regulation size by the time he reached the call-room.

He explained: “To win the semi-final with five balls would have been spectacular but Witsanu Huadpradit is far too good to let me do that. Hopefully the variations in the new balls will reduce and we can settle down.

“I still managed to secure a top three finish and I’m pretty happy with how I played, considering all the issues.”

David Smith roars to a bronze medal at the Povoa World Cup 2022

Meanwhile, the tournament in Povoa has seen the return to international competition of Hamilton’s Steph McGuire. In January, the 38-year-old broke his knee and femur and underwent major surgery.

McGuire ended up finishing 6th in the BC4 category, eventually eliminated by Tokyo 2020 Paralympic silver medallist Pornchok Larpyen of Thailand at the quarter final

“Finishing 6th here in Povoa is a massive win for me. I’ve had roughly 20 hours on court over the last six months. It’s back to rehabilitation now with renewed motivation.”

BC3 player Patrick Wilson of Edinburgh was similarly buoyant, competing in his first international event in three years. He escaped the pool matches unbeaten but was unable to get past the quarter final stages where he was defeated by the eventual gold medallist from Thailand.

There were also good performances by Cambridge’s Will Hipwell and Louis Saunders of Bognor Regis who both notched up wins on this highly competitive circuit. Scottish player Fiona Muirhead, who has been making her Great Britain debut at the Povoa tournament, also put in solid performances against legends of the game including two time Paralympic gold medallist Michaela Balcova of Slovakia.