A Glasgow curry chef is playing against world champions at the Commonwealth Games in lawn bowls—and he has a tasty offer for his opponents.
Mohammed Ayub Qureshi, known locally as "Chico," has run the Alishan Tandoori restaurant in Glasgow for 30 years. This week, he is swapping his restaurant apron for Pakistan's sports uniform. He and his teammate, Maqsood Waseem Khan, are competing in the men's pairs lawn bowls event against Australia's top team.
Even though Australia is a favorite to win, Qureshi has invited his opponents to dinner at his restaurant after the match. "If we lose, they are still invited to the restaurant, but I will probably give them a spicy vindaloo as revenge," Qureshi joked with a smile.
Qureshi was born in Pakistan but has lived in Glasgow for more than 50 years. He started playing lawn bowls almost 30 years ago after his bank manager, who was a bowler, encouraged him to sponsor a local club. Qureshi began offering meals and trophies for tournaments and soon joined the club himself.
His teammate, Khan, lives in Pakistan and helps run the Pakistan Lawn Bowls Federation. When Khan first started playing, bowls equipment was impossible to find in Pakistan, so he had to make bowling balls out of wood. Today, Khan is working hard to introduce the sport to young people in a country dominated by cricket.
During the Games, Qureshi expects to see many of his regular restaurant customers in the crowd cheering for him. To show his thanks, he says he might even hand out free poppadoms to his supporters.