After the three medals won in Finland, the Azzurri face the World Cup in Kazakhstan. The Italian BC3 pair will be seeded seventh in a competition that will see some of the best nations in the world rankings at the start
The international Paralympic Bowl season is in full swing and Italy is ready to return as a protagonist. From today to 9 June the Italian national team will be engaged in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the 2026 World Boccia Cup, a leading event on the world circuit which will see the best athletes on the international scene compete.
bc3 on the pitch
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The Italian expedition will be led by deputy technical commissioner Maria Rita Cattani. Competing in the BC3 category will be Michela Maria Favini and Gabriele Zendron, supported by sports assistants Francesco Castrignanò and Adriano Zendron.
go zendron!
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The Azzurri arrive at the event on the strength of the results obtained recently in Finland, where the national team won three medals. Gabriele Zendron shone, capable of climbing to the second step of the podium in the BC3 individual test. However, the World Boccia Cup in Astana will represent a further leap in quality compared to the Finnish Challenger. In fact, the Kazakh competition will bring together some of the best athletes and couples in the international rankings, offering the Italians an important testing ground in view of the next events on the world circuit. The Italian athlete currently occupies 15th place in the world ranking with 49.2 points and aims to consolidate and further improve his position among the best performers in the category.
more beans
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Silver also came from Finland in the BC3 pairs competition thanks to Zendron himself and Michela Maria Favini, protagonists of a convincing journey that culminated in the final. The Italian pair arrives in Astana as the 15th force in the international ranking with 37 points, ready to compete with the most competitive nations on the circuit. For Favini, currently 52nd in the BC3 women’s individual ranking with 5 points, the Kazakh World Cup also represents the second international experience of her career, an important opportunity for growth and comparison at the highest level. Completing the spoils achieved in Finland was the bronze obtained by the Italian team in the BC1/BC2 competition, a result which confirmed the progress of the entire Italian movement and its growing competitiveness in the various categories.
blue confidence
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“The results obtained in the latest international outings give us confidence and confirm that the work done is going in the right direction”, underlines the deputy technical commissioner Maria Rita Cattani. “A competition awaits us in Astana that will allow us to test ourselves against nations at the top of the world rankings. Just think of the couple from Hong Kong, the reigning Olympic champion, or the couple from South Korea, who have been among the most fearsome on the international circuit for years. Despite being currently 15th in the world ranking, our couple will start as the seventh seed in the competition, which sees four couples present in the world top 10 at the start. It will be an important test, but our athletes are motivated and ready to give your best to compete with the best.”
new global challenge
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The trip to Kazakhstan will also be an opportunity to reiterate the value of the organizations that support the growth of Italian Paralympic Bowls through the SIP, the Italian Paralympic Sector of the Italian Bowls Federation. Among these, BMW SpecialMente stands out, which supports the inclusion and development project promoted by the Federation, concretely contributing to the growth of the movement and the diffusion of the values of Paralympic sport. Also important is the collaboration between the Italian Bowls Federation and the Valle d’Aosta Region, which has launched a partnership dedicated to the development of inclusive sport in the area and the promotion of new participation opportunities for people with disabilities.
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