Yushae DeSilva-Andrade and Omar Hayward are in sensational form at the World Boccia Challenger event in Santiago, Chile.

Competing in the round-robin stage of the BC1 Division, Andrade gave an immediate signal of intent to her rivals, easing past Argentina’s Mariela Fuchs in an emphatic 9-0 victory in her opening encounter.

Her second match against Brazil’s Beatriz Marta Das Chagas, proved a tougher tussle, with her opponent taking the lead, only for Andrade, who won silver at the World Boccia Cup in Montreal in May, taking the next three rounds without reply to complete the turnaround.

Andrade continued her fine form in pool A with another comprehensive success, overcoming Lois Martin, of Canada, 10-0.

She will now take on Ailen Flores, of Argentina, who also holds a flawless record of three victories, in the final encounter to decide who will take the title.

Meanwhile, Hayward has also been in impressive form, getting off to the perfect start in pool B of the BC1 Male Division with a 16-0 thrashing of El Salvador’s Kevin Barillas Murga in his opening match.

As was the case in Andrade’s second encounter, Hayward was forced to battle back in his next match against Canada’s Lance Cryderman after going down 4-0, but he scored five points in the third end and one in the final end to clinch an impressive victory and seal progression through to the semi-finals.

He was due to face Caio Henrique Martins, of Brazil, in the final four late last night.

While delighted with the start to the competition, coach Troy Farnsworth is keen for his players to not get too carried away.

“It has been a great start to the competition,” he said. “However, there are still matches left against some quality opponents, so we will be taking one match at a time.”

As well as challenging for title success, the tournament acts as a vital tune-up for the duo ahead of the Para Pan American Games to be held at the same venue in Chile in November.

“This competition is being held at the same venue as the Para Pan American Games,” Farnsworth added. “As a result, this is providing good preparation for those Games as well as opportunity to score valuable world ranking points.”