Ryan Bester advances to lawn bowls quarter-final; medal hopes remain alive

Men’s singles lawn bowler Ryan Bester, a transplanted Canadian who now calls Australia home, finished first today in his group and has advanced to the quarter-final set for Thursday morning.

Bester, originally of Hanover, Ont., won a bronze medal at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and now plays professionally in Australia. His medal hopes for Glasgow remain alive after wins today over Samuela Tuikiligana of Fiji 21-19 and Muhammad Hizlee Abdul Rais of Malaysia 21-11.

“The first game was a bit of a scrappy game,” Bester said. “I was down 17-7 and then came back up. The second game I played my best game of the tournament so far.”

Bester will met Harry Musonda of Zambia at 8:45 a.m. Thursday in the quarter-final. Should he win that match, he will play in the semifinal at 12:45. Medal rounds are Friday, Aug. 1.

“I’m feeling good about tomorrow,” Bester said. “Anything can happen once you’re in the quarter-finals. I’m feeling good and positive.”

Bester is the only Canadian lawn bower still in contention.

The rest were eliminated Wednesday: Canada’s women’s pairs (Leanne Chinery (Victoria, B.C.) and Jackie Foster (Bridgetown, N.S.) narrowly lost to England 14-13 and did not advance; women’s triples (Mary Ann Beath (Vancouver, B.C.), Laura Hawryszko (Cobourg, Ont.) and Kelly McKerihen (Toronto, Ont.) fell to New Zealand 23-12 and did not advance; and men’s fours (George Whitelaw (Victoria, B.C.), Kevin Jones (London, Ont.), Chris Stadnyk (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and Tim Mason (Penetanguishene, Ont.) lost to South Africa 16-10 and did not advance.