Millie Cecilia Khan (29 July 1938 – 24 November 2003) was a lawn bowls competitor for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Personal life

Khan is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent through her mother, while her father was a Yugoslav emigrant. She married her husband Ron Khan, who is of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i descent, when she was 16. Two of her daughters ( Jan Khan and

Marina Khan ''Marina Khan'' (born 26 December 1962) is a Pakistani television and film actress, director and a producer. She was one of the most popular actresses of the 1980s and 1990s. Her television shows include '' Tanhaiyan'' (1986), '' Dhoop Kinare ...

) were also New Zealand representative lawn bowlers.

Bowls career

A competitor at four

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

; she won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the women's singles at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

. She won a bronze medal in the same event at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

. She won eight medals at the

Asia Pacific Bowls Championships The Asia Pacific Bowls Championships formerly the Pacific Rim Championships was a bowls, lawn bowling competition held between national bowls organisations in the Asia Pacific region. The event was inaugurated in 1985, and it was initially held ...

including four gold medals. Khan won a total of eleven

New Zealand National Bowls Championships The New Zealand National Bowls Championships is organised by Bowls New Zealand. Bowls was introduced in New Zealand in 1861 but the first national championships were not held until 1914. Men's singles champions Men's pairs champions Men's fou ...

titles; four in the singles (1989, 1990, 1992 and 2000); two in the pairs (1994 and 2000) and five in the fours (1989, 1990, 1997, 2001 and 2002) bowling for the Matamata Bowling Club.

Honours and awards

In the

1990 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the ...

, Khan was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to bowls. In 2013, Khan was an inaugural inductee into the Bowls New Zealand Hall of Fame.

References