Under the backdrop of spontaneous drizzles and an overcast sky, England bowler Richard Catton made a perfect start in his debut at the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic by winning the men’s singles title last Sunday, Nov 10.
The previous day, the first day of the singles competition was running smoothly under beautiful sunshine. The Observatory had warned that side effects of super typhoon Haiyan would affect Hong Kong on Sunday.
A downpour in the early morning and the continual drizzle made the green barely playable. But the Quarter Finals went ahead as planned.
Hong Kong bowlers made history by having representatives in all the Quarter Finals. Hong Kong top bowler Ken Chan was ousted by Catton at this stage, while Heron Lau was defeated by Richard Girvan of New Zealand. In the other section, Stanley Lai and Raymond Ho both progressed to the Semi-finals and guaranteed that there will be a local player in the Final.
Lai defeated Ho in a tight game to become only the third Hong Kong Chinese finalist, after Willie Lai of Greende Lawn Bowls Club and Heron Lau of Kowloon Bowling Green Club.
On his way to the Final, Catton beat a number of strong bowlers including top Hong Kong bowler Ken Chan, Irishman Gary Kelly, Uthen Ontong from Thailand and Richard Girvan from New Zealand.
The Final was another tight affair and they were tied at 6:6 with only the last end to play. Both players drew close to the head with the first bowl and Catton trailed the jack to hold a shot when Lai had only the last bowl to play. Lai tried to draw, but the bowl stopped a metre in front.
After narrowly winning the first set, Catton played with great confidence, but Lai was also determined to come from behind. The two players displayed a high level of skill throughout.
In the eighth end, when the score was tied, Lai drew the first bowl within 20cm of jack, but Catton trailed the jack to hold the shot. Lai missed his running shot and Catton added two more to win the game.
This is Catton’s first tournament out of the European continent and he felt ecstatic after winning the Final.
“I am shocked to win it as I am not great at singles,” said Catton. “I am normally a pairs man so I just tried my best at it and luckily I come out on top.”
Catton, England’s Young Bowler of the Year back in 2011, said that the downpour in the early morning on the day made it even tougher.
“The wet grass made it harder to play, but I am okay at finding the line, so just need to focus on the weight. Stanley bowled well and I am lucky too really. So I am lucky to come out on top.
“This is the first time I have entered this tournament and I am thoroughly enjoying it. There are good players in the competition and all games are tough, which is good because I am coming here for game experience,” said the 25-year-old.
“Now I quite fancy our chance in the pairs, although there are some strong teams out there,” Catton added.
Lai did not believe that the shower changed the game much, but thinks that the most critical moment was in the last end of the first set.
“We were tied on the score and whoever win this end also win the set,” explained Lai.
“I drew my last bowl poorly and it stopped one metre in front of the jack and I lost the set 6:5. In the next set I am just playing catch-up and it is difficult against a good player such as Catton.”
Despite the loss Lai is happy with his performance overall.
“It is great to progress to the Final and have a chance to play against good players. Now I look forward to performing in the pairs competition,” said Lai.
Catton, a Cambridge-based electrician, started bowling at the age of eight. He won England two silver medals in the European Championship in 2011 and is also a champion of the Senior and Junior International series this year.
Claudius Lam is an Officer with the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association.
