Bruce beaten in bowls shock

Former world singles champion Tayla Bruce suffered a heavy opening defeat in the bowls women's singles.

Bruce, one of the world's leading bowlers, came unstuck against Singapore's Serena Tiong, who won 10-4, 6-2. Tiong, 38, is a former national floorball representative, then coached and refereed the sport before taking up bowls five years ago.

She played with striking accuracy against Bruce,

who was unable to apply consistent pressure.

Bruce won world champs singles gold and triples silver in 2023. She has four national titles and in 2022 won the world champion of champion singles crown in Wellington. She's a veteran of two previous Commonwealth Games. On paper there was no way the Singaporean should have been a threat, but such is bowls.

The result doesn't necessarily rule Bruce out of medal contention. She needs to win her pool to advance and if she is able to recover her best form and goes through the rest of the matches in group play without another loss, she would almost certainly reach the final.