Tolchard joy at gold in fifth Commonwealth Games

Tolchard joy at gold in fifth Commonwealth GamesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Sam Tolchard first went to his first Commonwealth Games 16 years agoByBrent PilnickBBC Sport EnglandPublished12 minutes agoSam Tolchard says winning his first gold medal at his fifth Commonwealth Games "means everything".The 37-year-old from Torquay beat Malaysia's Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple to win the men's bowls singles at Glasgow 2026. Tolchard, who first competed at the Games in Delhi in 2010, cruised to an 8-0 win in the first set.But he was 6-3 down going into the final two ends of the second set until he picked up a four-shot maximum in the penultimate end to make it 7-6 before earning a one-shot win on a dramatic final end."I've had some really hard defeats over the years to take, but I've kept going," said Tolchard, who won silver in the pairs in 2022.He also has three bronze medals, won in the pairs in 2014 and 2018 and the fours four years ago."A fifth Commonwealth Games - a lot of people don't get that many chances," he told BBC Sport. "I'm very fortunate to have had that many chances."Once every four years is extremely tough, especially when you're only getting one event like this. We've been fortunate to get two events before."Every game I've played now, every bit of practice has been worth it."Commonwealth Games daily schedulePublished1 day agoCommonwealth Games medal table and resultsPublished1 day agoWhat are the Commonwealth Games?Published6 days agoIt is the second time Tolchard has beaten Dzulkeple in a major final. He defeated the Malaysian in the World Champion of Champions event in 2022 for his first major title.The win in Glasgow is even more remarkable given Tolchard balances playing top-level bowls while working as a self-employed electrician in Devon."The week before I came here I was working ridiculously late to try and get jobs finished," he said.&qu...