Mixed Results for the Canadians on Final Day of BISFed World Open in Santiago de Cali, Colombia
Santiago de Cali, Colombia (November 3, 2015) – “It was a difficult tournament for many of the athletes. Execution wasn’t always there in those key moments so we were playing catch up quite a bit. Our BC1/BC2 team did not qualify for the Paralympics though we’re certainly competitive in the BC3 and BC4 classes”, says head coach Mario Delisle (Montréal, QC) of the Canadians’ final day of competition at the BISFed World Open. Silver medallist in individual play at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games BC3 Eric Bussière (Montréal, QC) takes fifth place in individual while BC4 former World Number One Marco Dispaltro (Montréal, QC) scores fourth.
Dispaltro took wins of (7-3) over Bermuda’s Steve Wilson and (12-0) over Laszlo Hegedus of Hungary. Facing Domingos Vieira (Portugal), Dispaltro lost (4-4) in overtime and then to World Number One Yuk Wing Leung in the bronze medal match with a score of (1-5).
“My defense was very tight and my strategy was strong but I lacked precision and execution. In boccia, missing the jack is like missing an open net in hockey […] Since September 2014, I’ve been finishing fourth and fifth in tournaments, I’m missing that little something to get me on the podium. I’m close, I just need some tweaking. I’m not worried,” says Dispaltro.
Sailing into the quarter finals with a victory of (7-6) over Tanimpat Visaranunta (Thailand), Bussière couldn’t regain control over Sebastian Hogrell of Sweden. He was defeated with a score of (3-6).Bussière says, “The ball just wasn’t rolling for me and some bad decisions on my part means the tournament ended in the quarter finals with a loss of (3-6). I’m still satisfied, I reached my goal and I’m climbing in the rankings.”