Para bowlers to play for gold

Both the men's and women's para pairs teams won their semi-finals and will now play off for gold.

New Zealand's two para pairs teams have led the way for the New Zealand bowls squad in Glasgow.

The New Zealand women's team of Julie O'Connell and Teri Blackbourn were pushed hard by Malaysians Norazian Doud and Jariah Zakaria and only won 4-4, 4-2.

'That's a total relief,' said O'Connell. 'We didn't play terribly well, but we got there. Blackbourn, who was playing her 50th match for New Zealand, said they'd done just enough. 'We'd like to have put on a better performance, but at least now we're guaranteed a medal. It's cool to get to that stage.'

The two players get on very well, despite the disparity in their ages - O'Connell is 67 and Blackbourn 32, and the fact that O'Connell lives in Christchurch and Blackbourn in Hamilton.

'Just to be here at my age playing a sport I love is special,' O'Connell said.

The men's para pairs team - Mark Noble and Kurt Smith - beat England's Joe Peplow and Kieran Rollings 6-5, 5-3, reversing the result from when the two teams met earlier in the day in the last round of group play.

The New Zealanders had to come from 2-5 down to win the first set. Noble said earlier in the day their play in the tournament had been patchy, and that was the case again in the semi-final. But they played well when it mattered and now they're in the final.

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