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From RTE:
Ireland’s Pádraic Moran has sensationally won a gold medal at the Boccia World Championships in Lisbon.
Competing in the BC1 Class, he sensationally beat home favourite Joao Paolo Fernandez by a score of 3:2 in a thrilling final at the Estádio Universitário in Lisbon’s University.
Moran got off to a slow start going down 2:0 to Fernandez in the first two ends. Demonstrating extreme composure, he levelled the match at 2:2 going into the final end and against a partisan home crowd maintained his focus to come out on top 3:2.
Speaking after the event, an emotional Moran said: ‘I feel numb just now, I cannot believe it. It has been a lot of hard work since my first international appearance in Rio back in 2006. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone to next year’s World Cup in Belfast and the Paralympic Games in London, 2012.’
The Bray man, who finished fifth at the Beijing Paralympic Games, finished top of his qualifying pool and a gruelling eight games in three days later, claimed a semi final place.
He then came through a nail biting semi-final this morning against Thailand’s Thinnakorn ThePdeang, ultimately winning out in a tie break to set up a mouth watering final against the home favourite.
Team Manager Jacquie Connolly said: ‘I am delighted for Padraic. This victory has come at just the right time for Padraic in advance of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He has come through the ranks, learned his trade and deserves this accolade. He is a deserving World Champion.’
The medal marks the end of a long Championship for Moran, who earlier in the week led the Irish team to a fourth place finish in the BC1/BC2 combined team competition.
Mallow’s Johnny Cronin and Tom Leahy from Ballyhooley both had extremely credible World Championship performances also making the knockout stages but they were eliminated in the last 16 and last 32 respectively.