Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 20 2016 –Decidedly dominant displays and some somewhat slender successes characterized the opening day’s play of the Fazza World Open Boccia Competition – Dubai 2016 here at Al Nasr Sports Club.
Russia were the biggest winners from the initial phase of group stage games as they registered a resounding 20-0 victory in the BC4 Pairs category over Kuwait, who also lost 18-0 to Hong Kong.
China whitewashed Germany 14-0 and the UAE 10-0 too in the very same classification, with the host nation going down 11-0 against Slovakia thereafter.
There was only one seismic scoreline in the BC3 Pairs competition as Belgium outclassed the USA 14-0 and the European outfit went on to overcome Australia 4-1 and Japan 4-2.
“We did okay. We made some little mistakes, but no big ones,” said Belgium coach Davy Moons afterwards. “We didn’t play badly, although there were a few balls that weren’t that accurate and some tactical decisions that could have made a difference. There is always room for improvement.”
Australia recovered from that reverse to the Belgians to join them in the semi-finals with an 8-3 triumph over the United States securing their last-four berth and bookending a day that had begun with a 4-2 result against the Japanese.
“We played pretty well, although we could have done better,” commented Ken Halliday, the Australia coach.
“We had our chances in that game against Belgium, yet we didn’t take them. That was a game we should have won. We did quite well and we’re very confident going into the semis.”
Belgium shall now face Russia for a place in the BC3 Pairs final, while Australia will meet South Korea.
South Korea qualified as winners from their three-strong pool after prevailing 4-3 over both Hong Kong and Russia, who pipped HK to the knockout rounds on account of winning their head-to-head showdown on a tie-break following a hard-fought 3-3 draw.
Meanwhile, China awaits their semi-final opponents in the BC1/2 Teams tournament having made it through to the last four with a 100% record.
The Chinese trio eased past Hong Kong (11-1) and Chinese Taipei (14-3) before edging out Slovakia (6-5), with Hong Kong also progressing due to comfortable wins over Chinese Taipei (16-2) and Slovakia (7-3).
Portugal are already assured of their place in the last four from the other group after getting the better of Bahrain (18-1) and Russia (8-0), who now appear most likely to join them at the expense of Japan.
The final round of pool-phase outings in the BC1/2 Teams and BC4 Pairs contests will take place on day two of the Fazza World Open Boccia Competition – Dubai 2016 in Oud Metha.
This tournament is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), organised and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of strategic partners the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC) and in collaboration with the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW), the DSC and the UAE Paralympic Committee.

“There have been some great performances from the athletes in most of the matches,” stated Majid Abdullah Al Usaimi, the Executive Director at the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Director of the Fazza Championships for the Disabled.
“That’s indicative of the fact that this BISFed-sanctioned Boccia competition here in Dubai has a very bright future and will provide further opportunities for those athletes to compete more.”
Souad Ibrahim Darwish, the Director of Championships at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC), added: “We’re proud to support our strategic partners the Dubai Club for the Disabled in staging the Fazza World Open Boccia Competition – Dubai 2016.
“We wish our international visitors from overseas the very best of luck and hope that they will enjoy sampling our rich Emirati culture and heritage during their stay here in the emirate.”

Day One Results:BC1/2Teams:Group A:China 11-1 Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei 2-12 Slovakia, China 14-3 Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong 7-3 Slovakia, Chinese Taipei 2-16 Hong Kong, China 6-5 Slovakia. Group B: Japan 1-9 Russia, Bahrain 1-18 Portugal, Bahrain 4-4 Japan (Japan won the tie-break), Portugal 8-0 Russia.

BC3Pairs:Group A:Hong Kong 3-4 South Korea, Hong Kong 3-3 Russia (Russia won the tie-break), South Korea 4-3 Russia. Group B:Australia 4-2 Japan, Belgium 14-0 USA, Japan 6-3 USA, Belgium 4-1 Australia, Australia 8-3 USA, Belgium 4-2 Japan.

BC4Pairs:Group A: Hong Kong 18-0 Kuwait, Japan 3-2 Russia, Kuwait 0-20 Russia, Hong Kong 8-1 Japan. Group B:China 10-0 UAE, Germany 0-9 Slovakia, China 14-0 Germany, Slovakia 11-0 UAE.