Yushae DeSilva-Andrade is again on the path to success after winning her first match at the 2024 World Boccia Cup in Montreal.

DeSilva-Andrade, who is almost certain to be representing Bermuda at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, showed her skill from the start in Canada to beat world No 15 Aurelie Aubert, of France, in her opening match in pool B.

Troy Farnsworth, coach to DeSilva-Andrade and Omar Hayward, who is also competing this week, was delighted with the first-round performance

“Overall, it was a great first match and Yushae was very consistent, so it was a good way to start,” Farnsworth said.

“She scored two points in each of the first two ends so got off to a 4-0 lead halfway through the match. It was a really tight third end, where they were both the same distance from the jack and got a point each, so she was up 5-1 going into the last end and gave the French girl a point in the last end.”

The Montreal Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the calendar and Farnsworth is pleased that DeSilva-Andrade and Hayward will be testing themselves against some of the best exponents of their sport in the world.

“There are 22 countries here, with a lot of Asian and European countries and some Australians competing,” Farnsworth said.

“A lot of these competitors will be taking part in the Paralympics in August, so this is a good warm-up competition for a lot of the athletes here.

“You have to qualify to get in to this event so all the players are at a very high level and there are a lot of top-ten players at this competition, so for our guys it’s a really good test to see where they are at to start the year as there has been a break since the last competition in Chile in November.”

DeSilva-Andrade is next in action on Wednesday against Japan’s Yuriko Fujii, who is ranked tenth in the world, while Hayward begins his campaign against John Loung, the world No 6, later today.