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Bowls silver for Smith

Thursday 14 October 2010, 9:22AM

By New Zealand Olympic Committee

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New Zealander Val Smith, who had a dismal start to her Commonwealth Games campaign, went within one match of winning the gold medal today.


Eventually the Nelson bowler, the current world singles champion, lost in the final to young English bowler Natalie Melmore 7-6, 11-2.


Smith began her time in Delhi with four losses from her first six games and it seemed she was out of semi-final contention.


However, she fought back gamely and put together a six-match winning streak that took her all the way to the final.


Smith won a cliff-hanger against 21-year-old Australian Kelsey Cottrell to reach the final. The New Zealander eventually got there 9-7 4-8 4-3 after a match in which the lead alternated repeatedly.


In the final she played well, but struck Melmore at the very top of her game.


Meanwhile Ali Forsyth, New Zealand’s men’s singles representative, was eliminated by Australian Leif Selby today. Forsyth needed one more victory to make the semi-finals.


Forsyth said he was reasonably happy with how he had gone at the games.


He lost just qualifying one match and finished second in his section.


"I came so close,” said the Australian-based Forsyth. “I dropped only two games. I just happened to lose one at the wrong time."