Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010: The Charm of the Games Attracts Senior Players
New Delhi – among international athletes participating into the Delhi Commonwealth games, we might not find many who started their career at the age of 60, however, Don Batiste; currently 73 years old representative of the Island of Guernsey did so. Don Batiste is being considered a strong contestant for “Lawn Bowls” at Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The fact about Don Batiste starting his career at the age when most of the players usually have spent a considerable part of their retired life is not only surprising, but commendable as well. The 73 years old player hails from Guernsey that is a small island situated between France and England. “Lawn Ball” the game in which Don Batiste is competing is similar to the much famous sport of Bocce. The game is all about tossing the balls across a small green swath so that they may land near the target ball known as jack.
Mr. Batiste making his entrance to the Commonwealth Games have helped displaying a soft and spruced up image of the whole event. Allowing someone who hails from an island as small as Guernsey to compete into the less taxing sport of Lawn Ball, the Games have depicted a commendable gesture. On the other hand, despite of having comparatively low chances of winning the game, by ensuring his participation, Mr. Batiste too has shown his competitive spirit.
Talking to the media and sharing his views, Batiste said that he used to play a lot of cricket and football at a younger age. However, when he reached the age of 60, he decided to join the gym. The player said that gym and exercise routine had helped him keeping fit and competing the youngsters with a rejuvenated spirit. He further said that if the people who were of his age felt fit, there was no reason for them to remain away from the sports. Despite of having a thin physique and being at the age of 73, Batiste shrugged off the feelings of playing with the players who were four times younger than him.
An amazing point revealed to the media was that batiste, despite of having the age of 73 was not the most senior player at the event. Instead, Nelson Simons, the 78 years old player hailing from Bermuda kept the title. Moreover, another player named Gerald Reive from Falkland Islands was also few month older than Batiste. Mr. Reive was also competing in lawn bowls.
At New Delhi, when the lawn bowl competition began, a reasonable number of players with grey hair were observed. Among others, 72 year old Willie Wood, who was another lawn bowler hailing from Scotland was competing his eighth consecutive Commonwealth Games. When requested to share his views, Mr. Wood said that he started playing the game when he was just 12. He further said that he had spent his entire life in a small village where he usually did not have anything to do to kill his time. That persuaded him to devote most of his time to the bowls.
Mr. Wood revealed to the media that because of this particular sport, he has been all around the world. He was of the view that at his age people usually decided to take the back seat, but he put all his strengths to stay at the upfront by giving due time to exercise for delivering into the sport.
Describing the game for the people who did not understand it, Mr. Wood said that though the heaviest ball in the game only weighed 3.5 pounds, however it took a lot of stamina to play three games in a row. Talking about the age difference of the players he had to compete with the 72 years old player said that he didn’t feel tired more than those who were of much younger age. In fact, he claimed that at the end of the day, the younger players felt much more tired than him, as he did not carry any extra weight around his belly.
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