Bermuda’s boccia trio endured mixed fortunes on the opening day of their Parapan American Games campaigns in Lima, Peru, yesterday.

Steve Wilson, Yushae DeSilva-Andrade and Omar Hayward were in all action with Wilson competing in the BC1 classification pool in group D, with DeSilva-Andrade and Hayward both competing in the BC1 classification pool in group C and B respectively.

DeSilva-Andrade was the first on court at the Polideportivo in Villa El Salvador, taking on Eduardo Sánchez, of Mexico. The Bermudian herself 5-0 down, before rallying to reduce the deficit in the third and fourth ends, ultimately going down to a 5-2 defeat. Hayward enjoyed a close-fought opener against Mauricio Ibarbure, of Argentina eventually coming out on the wrong end of seven-point thriller, to lose 4-3.

There was also disappointment for Wilson in his opening encounter against Ercileide Laurinda, of Brazil, with his opponent racing into a 5-0 advantage before Wilson rallied to win the third 2-0. Laurinda then added four further points to clinch an eventual 9-2 victory. Hayward bounced back from his opening defeat in emphatic fashion against Carlos Raymundo Cano Yanes, of Peru. The host athlete proved no match for Hayward, who won every end, without giving up a solitary point, claiming a 15-0 success.

DeSilva-Andrade did not fare quite so well in her second encounter, as she suffered another hard-fought loss, this time at the hands of Hanif Mawji, of Canada.

After the first two ends, DeSilva-Andrade found herself just a point behind with the score at 2-1, but Mawji took control of the match in the third end. The Bermudian, won the final end with a solitary score, but it was not enough to prevent a 6-2 defeat overall.

The day’s competition did end on a positive note for Bermuda, however, with 71-year-old Wilson claiming his first victory of the competition.

Facing Eduardo Ruiz, of Mexico, Wilson raced into a 3-0 lead after two ends, only for his opponent to hit back with a three unanswered points. Wilson held his nerve in the decisive fourth end, scoring the only two points to clinch a 5-2 victory.

All three return to action today with DeSilva-Andrade taking on Ailen Flores, of Argentina, Hayward facing Brazil’s Guilherme Moraes and Wilson battling Duban Cely, of Colombia, with places in the quarter-finals up for grabs.