Boccia Team Win Twice At World Challenger
Bermuda’s boccia team recorded two wins and a personal milestone during individual pool play at the Birmingham 2026 World Boccia Challenger in Alabama, with Yushae DeSilva-Andrade and Omar Hayward both winning their matches and Zeik Blakeney scoring his first international points.
In the BC1 Female division, Yushae DeSilva-Andrade earned Bermuda’s first win of the competition, defeating Pei-Shan Hsu of Chinese Taipei 7-1 in Pool A.
The victory was an encouraging bounce-back for DeSilva-Andrade, Bermuda’s most experienced international boccia athlete, after she opened the tournament with a defeat against Brazil’s Andreza de Oliveira.
In the BC1 Male division, Omar Hayward also moved into the win column, defeating Canada’s Kyle Scott 7-2 in Pool A.
In the BC2 Male division, Blakeney continued his first international tournament with a defeat against Australia’s Aaryan Shah in Pool C. While the result was a loss, Blakeney scored three points after being beaten Mario Sayes of El Salvador in his opening match, giving the Bermudian debutant his first points on the international stage.
