[attach id=251243 size="medium"]Leonard Callus... bronze medal in World Cup.[/attach]

History was made at the Warilla Sports & Recreation Complex in Sydney recently when Leonard Callus placed joint third with Scotland’s Graeme Archer in the World Cup.

This is the first time that a Maltese player has won a medal in this competition which epitomises the sport of lawn bowls and where participants are top-ranking players from all over the world.

This year, 25 countries participated with Callus and Carmen Spiteri representing Malta.

In the lead-up to the play-offs, Callus won his games against the bowlers from Ireland, China, Singapore, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Macao and Malaysia. He lost to the representatives of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, finishing fourth in the section.

In the first play-off, Callus won his game against the player from Hong Kong China and then faced title holder Jeremy Henry, of Australia, in the semi-finals.

Callus won the first set 10-4 but lost the second 12-1 and the tie-break 5-0. Henry won the final after beating Tony Grantha, of New Zealand, in the title match.

Spiteri placed fourth in her section with 14 points behind joint-leaders Guernsey and Canada, and Australia. Spiteri is currently seventh in the women’s world rankings.

In October, Malta will be participating in the World Champion of Champions in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Spiteri will represent Malta along with John Borg in the men’s tournament.

It is also being planned that in summer 2014 the Malta Lawn Bowls Federation will be sending a strong team to participate in the Commonwealth Games in Glas-gow, Scotland.

Ambassador Anthony De Bono, president of the Malta Lawn Bowls Federation, said reaching such high standards dictates the utmost dedication by the Maltese players who train and consistently travel hundreds of miles to compete against other top players.

“Most of the expenses involved are borne by the players themselves,” De Bono said.

Those willing to join or contribute to the sport may obtain more details by phoning 9944-7722 or 7900-0099.