Dixon gets to top of pyramid in Egypt | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty

Forced into playing a sport at school five years ago, Duncan Dixon picked up a croquet mallet because "I could never see the point with rugby ... I looked at the options and chose the laziest one I could."

The shy, softly spoken 20-year-old is now a world champion.

Dixon yesterday arrived home to a hero's welcome at Tauranga Airport, buried under a deluge of hugs and kisses from delighted Mount Maunganui/Papamoa Croquet Club players after being crowned the world's top under-21 golf croquet player in Egypt.

Golf croquet is the modern, rapid-fire form of the game, with each match lasting  about 45 minutes, as opposed to the more tactical Association croquet, in which matches can last up to three hours.

It was the second world title - or fourth if you count Papamoa-based BMX rider Sarah Walker's twin wins at the world champs in Adelaide - for a Tauranga athlete in 10 days, following yachtie Sam Meech's win at the Laser Radial worlds in Brazil.

You won't read about Dixon's win in any of the national newspapers or watch it on television.

 His mother, Sue, felt compelled to phone Radio Sport   during the weekend to trumpet her son's achievement.

Dixon said: "I try not to let the lack of publicity croquet gets bug me too much, because, really, what can you do about it? It's the sport I've chosen, I seem to be reasonably good at it and I just get on and play."

Dixon was part of a four-strong team of New Zealand under-21 players in Egypt and arrived at the inaugural youth world champs as No1 seed.

He thrashed local hero Hisham Shaker 7-3 7-4 7-5 in a one-sided final, having edged out Australian Robert Fletcher 7-5 4-7 7-6 in the semifinals.

The tight semifinal was decided only on the last play of the game when Fletcher's audacious 1.5m jump shot just failed to score.

After six days on the greens in heat that peaked at 40C, Dixon said winning had brought a feeling of relief rather than elation.

"To be honest, I was drained at the end of it all. Physically I was exhausted, but emotionally I don't think becoming world champion has quite sunk in yet."

Dixon said his coach, former world champion Chris Clarke, implored him to play a tempered final, not going out too aggressively.

"Most of my nerves were in the semifinal, probably because it was tight the whole way. I think my opponent in the final (Shaker) was more nervous than me in front of a noisy home crowd, with added pressure, too, because his mother (Iman El Farnsawi) is the women's world champion."

Dixon's trophy, which he'll safeguard for two years, is huge - bigger than anything the All Blacks are likely to win this year. He was also weighed down by added baggage in Cairo, contending with a severe bout of "tummy trouble" after getting too close to the local tap water.

He would position bottles of water around the playing green to stay hydrated, although play often didn't start until 5pm (finishing at 2am under floodlight) to keep the players out of the hottest part of the day.

Dixon was a curiosity in Egypt, with the hard-hitting style of play he's developed since his humble beginnings five years ago as a boarder at Oamaru's Waitaki Boys' High raising plenty of eyebrows.

"The Egyptians in particular (where croquet is huge) watched me pretty closely at last year's Open worlds in South Africa because I like to hit the ball hard. It takes most of the variables out of the green."

Dixon stunned his peers when he won the national golf croquet title in 2007-08, winning a wildcard entry to the world championships last year in South Africa and grabbing a top-16 finish.

He also made the plate semifinals last year at the Association worlds, going one better in Florida this year when he won the plate event.

Not too bad for a kid who took up the sport only because he was looking for the easy way out.