Comments from ParalympicsGB boccia players following this morning’s session.
David Smith
Result: Beat Daniel Perez of the Netherlands 4-1 in second BC1 pool match to qualify for the quarter-finals
Age: 35
Hometown: Eastleigh
“I’m a bit tired now. That was a really good game, I can’t play much better than that. It was tight, Dan pushed me all the way. That’s the best I’ve seen him play in a long time so kudos to him, he was unlucky. I think it was a fair result in the end but it was tight. I feel like I’ve had two semi-finals already so keep winning my semi-finals until I get to the actual semi-finals and then go from there.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve cruised into the quarter-finals. As you can see at this level everyone is good and I’ve got to be at my best every game to have a chance. I’m not taking anything for granted.
“Dan and I are quite close off the court, I remember when he started being a rival of mine in 2011 or so going into London and then Rio. It was a good game, he’s a great player and I wish him luck for the next round, if he plays like that again I could well be seeing him in the final.”
On his hair:
“I do it every Paralympic cycle. I started in Beijing, when my teammate John Murray told me it was tradition that we all dye our hair and I was young enough to believe him. But we won the team gold so I kinda had to keep it. When I was young I used to like new metal and rock and roll, early 2000s, everyone was dying their hair and turning it into a mohawk.
“Everyone has their own different hairstyles - we’ve all got our own little styles and quirks. I don’t try to copy anyone and they don’t try to copy me so happy days.”
Stephen McGuire
Result: lost third match in BC4 pool 4-2 against Canadian Iulian Ciobanu, still topped his pool to qualify for quarter-finals
Age: 40
Hometown: Hamilton
“It was a tough match. It’s always hard going in when you know that you can lose but not by too many. There’s a bit of keep the score down and try to win an end here and there. My opponent, fair play to him, he needed to win by six and he kept fighting. I put him in some tricky positions, especially in the second half of the match but he just kept finding a way so credit to him for the fight. But I’m delighted, I’ve topped the pool and that’s all I could ask for.”
On whether his chances of progression played into his tactics:
“It certainly did, especially closing out the ends and trying to limit him to one point. The tactics came into play a little bit and I was delighted with the final end because by that point I was under pressure, so to get a couple of points back meant I topped the pool and the second seed has gone out.”
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