TOM HAYES
BOCCE
By TOM HAYES AUSTRALIA struck gold when Antonio Biancacci and Italian Australian Club Morwell’s Diane Penney recently won the Asia-Oceania Confederation Mixed-Doubles Bocce-Raffa Championship. This was the third edition of the Asia-Oceania Confederation Championships, and the second time Malaysia was host, following the inaugural 2019 Championships in India. Earlier this year, Penney was inducted into the Bocce Australia ‘Team of the Half-Century’ at the Bocce Australia Hall of Fame gala night. In the Malaysian city of Kota Bharu, Penney and Biancacci rolled toward their first international victory in Bocce-Raffa code, outplaying their Malaysian counterparts in the final. Penney was left speechless after receiving her first international gold medal. Meanwhile, doubles partner Biancacci said, “I can’t stop smiling”. “It’s been a really good day, making it through each round as the number one.” Although Biancacci is relatively new to playing the sport of Bocce, he has recently been more focussed on administration as the vice-president of Bocce Australia and the secretary general of ‘Confederazione Boccistica Internazionale’ – the World Bocce-Raffa governing body. His doubles partner – Morwell’s Penney – only recently returned from the World Bocce Championships, held in Turkey. She achieved an overall ranking of 17th in the world, before entering and winning the Asia-Oceania Confederation Championships, alongside Biancacci. By securing gold, Penney, Biancacci and the Australian team have locked in a slot to compete in the World Bocce-Raffa Championships next year in Algeria.
