Instead of heading to the pub to have a couple of cold ones, Prem Asish Mukerjee (61) was looking for something to do on Monday night.
He ended up going to play Masters Games crackerjack bowls at the St Kilda Bowling Club.
Crackerjack is a combination of three sports - indoor bowls, lawn bowls and petanque. The three sports are played separately in a quick format.
It was all new for the Aucklander, who has had a couple of roll-ups in bowls but that is where his experience ended.
Petanque was completely foreign to him. He had never played and did not know where to stand and how to hold the boule.
But he received some instructions from Barrie and Bev Kendall on how to throw the boule and was then paired up with former Central Otago mayor Tony Lepper.
The duo went out and competed against 15 other pairs in the rapid-fire competition which involved some ends and then a quick game of petanque.
Much to his astonishment, and with Lepper looking pretty good, the duo won the competition.
Mukerjee was very happy about the win although he put it all down to Lepper's talents.
''I didn't do anything really. Just tried hard. He did all of the work,'' he said.
He paid tribute to the Kendalls, who helped him so much, saying he would not have been able to play, let along win, without their instructions.
The gold medal was a real bonus for him and he went home happy to Auckland last night with a bit of extra luggage. He also won a gold, silver and two bronze medals in table tennis.
