Smith seeks to regain boccia 'Triple Crown'

British boccia star David Smith is seeking to reclaim the ‘triple crown’ of the sport as he targets gold at the World Championships in Seoul, South Korea.

Smith, the current European champion, first held the triple crown in 2018, when he win gold at the World Championships in Liverpool whilst also holding the 2016 Paralympic title and 2017 European title.

The 37-year-old held that honour for four years before taking silver at the 2022 world champs.

Smith who resides in Swansea has five medals from four Paralympic Games and is seeking to regain the world title, 20 years on from his championship debut.

“When I held the Triple Crown before, I had a rival after Rio who sort of got reclassified, then I had new rivals coming up,” said Smith, who admits he faces much stiffer competition now.

“Going into Liverpool [2018 worlds], I maybe had one or two rivals for that top spot.

“I think there was definitely a clear gap between me and them in terms of my best.

“Now there are six people [at the top of the rankings] that can play very well.

“Obviously, [Muhamad] Syafa is probably 140, but the rest of us are sort of on that 100 point mark from two to six, then there’s a gap from the rest.”

Smith says gone are the days of just “playing well enough” to win and he will have to play like “a phoenix rising from the ashes” to achieve his goals.

“I have to play out of my skin essentially to match them so, bring it on,” he added.

“I don’t think it’s been done before actually in my class as someone that was dominant to drop and then come back up.

“If I can do that, not saying I’ll dominate because that’s a bit of a stretch, but if I can get the two big ones, the Worlds and obviously the Paralympics in LA, I’ll be pretty happy with that.

“That might be the time to say that’s enough.”

Soaring standards

With the increased depth of talent in the BC1 category, Smith says momentum is harder to come by.

“In a quarter-final, you’re playing someone who’s probably in the top six who can, on their day, win.

“It’s not always easy to get out of a quarter-final, let alone medal, let alone win it.

“I think it’s one of those where once you get on a roll, get through one, then the momentum just starts building.

Smith says more recent format changes in competition have hampered him.

“I’ve struggled to build momentum,” he told BBC Sport Wales.

“In the past I’d have like three or four pool games before a knockout game, now I’m two pool games straight into knockout.

“You don’t get as much time to sort it if you have a dodgy game, you’ve got to win every game essentially.

“You’ve got to be on it because it can get awkward and very nasty, very quickly .

“It’s just a lot more intense which is good and it’s and the sport is kind of throwing up curveballs all the time.

“Different people are winning from all the different classes and the BC1 males is no different.

“I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

Smith will also compete in the mixed team event alongside Kayleigh Brown [nee Haggo] and Reshad Saraj following the retirement of Claire Taggart.

“It’s a totally different dynamic,” said Smith.

“Kayleigh’s just come back from having a baby as well, so we had pretty much almost a year of no team stuff.

“We’ve only just got back really this season so that’s been a challenge, but it’s been okay because we haven’t had any expectations on it.

“We go into the worlds with nothing really to prove, bit of a free hit.

“We’re in the fourth pot, so we’re going to be bottom seeds in our pool against whoever, because it’s random now.”

Despite their low seeding, Smith says other teams would be keen to avoid the Brits.

“We’re pretty certain that most of our opponents wouldn’t want us in the pool because although we’re in the fourth pot we’re probably the worst fourth pot opponent to have.

“You could get a pool of death so we’ll see see what the draw comes up with and give it a good crack.

“The aim is to try and qualify and get to the quarter-finals, that’ll really do our ranking a world of good.

“But Ii not, get as many wins as possible because every win is a point.”

Having won team BC1-BC2 bronze at Rio in 2006, Smith could be forgiven for motivation being harder to come by.

“It ebbs and flows, I’m not going to lie,” he told BBC Sport Wales.

“There are some days you wake up and I don’t want to touch a ball or see a ball or even think about it and then other days you’re dreaming about it.

“Then you get up and you’re keen to get on court to fix or try something that’s on the table.”

After medalling at his first three Paralympics, Smith returned from Paris empty-handed.

“Paris was difficult,” he said.

“There were so many mitigating factors with Paris, it was annoying because I was actually in really good form.

“It was just one of those games in the semi-final where if I win that game, I’d probably win the competition.”

Despite disappointment, the competitive fire still flows through Smith, fuelled by the desire to keep being successful.

“I didn’t get into the sport because it was a great watch, I got into it because I liked winning.

“That’s kind of the selling point of boccia, it is a really competitive game and when played properly it’s actually quite a decent watch as well.”

As the season draws to a close for Smith, he is ready for the challenge in Seoul.

“I’ve been chomping at the bit really to get on with it. I had a few competitions along the way just to get myself sharp and ready to go.

“I had a few little slip-ups as well which hopefully have ironed out some of the creases in my armour, so yeah when we get to the worlds I should have all the answers hopefully.”