World Champion Smith Aims to Move Up Rankings at Boccia World Cup

“The Asians play a very different style, so the Europeans had a shock in the last competition because they came out with a more open and aggressive style, taking the jack much higher up the court, so it took a lot of people by surprise.”

Great Britain’s David Smith will not be sporting his trademark red Mohican at next week’s Boccia World Cup in Northern Ireland, but the defending world champion has only one thing on his mind: he wants to win.

The 21-year-old won the 2007 World Cup as a relative new-comer and, soon after, became the world number one. However, since then he has slipped down the rankings to third in the world – something he is determined to address at the World Cup which runs from 22-26 August at the University of Ulster in Belfast.

“At the moment, I’m looking to medal in the individual and team events,” he said. “I want to improve my ranking because obviously it’s quite important at the London Paralympics to have a good ranking to get a better draw.”

Smith, a BC1 player (able to use his hands or feet to propel the ball), has been training hard for the event with teammate Jacob Thomas, who is in the BC3 class (unable to throw or kick a ball into play and permitted to use assistive device and supported by an assistant).

Despite having different classifications, Smith says that training together helps them to challenge each other in different ways.

“He’s very good at always putting his first ball straight onto the jack. In my category that doesn’t happen very often, so for me playing him is a new challenge.

“I’m quite creative in terms of how I play. In Jacob’s category it tends to be less creative. I tend to be quite good at developing situations, playing quite exciting Boccia and pulling off shots that other people can’t see or haven’t thought of.”

Smith will be up against some stiff competition at the Boccia World Cup, mainly from Spain’s Francisco Javier Beltram and Portugal’s Joao Paul Fernandes, the reigning Paralympic champion.

“Beltram is a kicker, who is always very good. I played him at the World Cup final four years ago,” Smith said. “Because he’s a kicker, unfortunately for him, I can exploit his weakness by knocking him out using bouncing shots to get in.”

Fernandes is currently ranked world number one, but Smith beat him in the 2009 European Championships final.

“He’s another very good player who’s been around for years,” Smith said. “His throws are similar, but I think I’m a bit more able than him.

“To me it’s about consistently playing to a high standard. I’m quite confident in my abilities to play anybody.”

The challenge for Smith may come more from Asian players like Thailand’s Pattaya Tadtong and Korea’s Kim Myeong Su.

“The Asians play a very different style, so the Europeans had a shock in the last competition because they came out with a more open and aggressive style, taking the jack much higher up the court, so it took a lot of people by surprise.”