Malaysia closed its International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Cup campaign with two team bronze medals after both national quartets fell in five-game semi-finals at Max Munich Bowling in Brunnthal, Bernama noted.
The defending men’s champions lost 3-2 to Australia, while the women went out by the same margin to Singapore, according to NST.
Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam and Ahmad Muaz Fishol took the opening game 224-192, conceded the second 175-206, regained the lead at 217-164, then watched Australia level with a 195-168 win before a 275-194 finish in the decider.
The women’s quartet of Natasha Roslan, Sin Li Jane, Adelia Nur Irwan Syazalee and Nur Hazirah Ramli trailed 2-0 after losses of 236-203 and 211-200, drew level through wins of 259-215 and 194-180, and then lost the deciding game 191-174.
The double bronze lifted Malaysia’s haul to three medals, after Natasha’s silver in the women’s singles on Sunday. Malaysia was one of only two nations, alongside the United States, to reach the semi-finals in both team events.
Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) secretary-general Maradona Chok said the campaign delivered plenty to be proud of despite the near-misses. “Of course, we wanted to go all the way, especially with both teams reaching the semi-finals. But to come away with three medals and have both our teams among the world’s top four is still a very encouraging achievement,” he said.
The men arrived at the knockout stage the hard way. They won just two of their opening six qualifying matches, then reeled off five straight victories to reach the bracket, beating Qatar 3-1 in the last 16 and Canada 3-2 in the quarter-finals.
Chok said the recovery said much about the group’s character. “The boys deserve a lot of credit. They had a difficult start, but showed tremendous character to fight their way back and reach the semi-finals. They gave everything they had in trying to defend the title,” he said.
The women had also survived a five-game thriller, beating Australia 3-2 in the last 16 before sweeping Greece 3-0 in the quarter-finals. Singapore will meet Denmark in the final after Denmark beat the United States 3-2, while France stopped the American men 3-1.
Malaysia had enjoyed a memorable campaign at last year’s World Cup in Hong Kong, returning with two golds and two silvers. Natasha took the women’s singles crown, the men’s quartet claimed a maiden team gold, Rafiq added a men’s singles silver and the women’s team finished as runners-up.
