KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysia Lawn Bowls Federation has requested the National Sports Council (NSC) to maintain its athletes in the national podium programme and not exclude them.
Earlier, NSC excluded lawn bowl athletes from the podium programme after they failed to meet the target at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
However, recently Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi made history for Malaysia when they won the women’s pairs title at the World Bowls Championship.
This prompted NSC to include lawn bowls in the elite programme.
The duo defeated Malta’s Rebecca Rixon and Connie-Leigh Rixon 15-9 in the final at the Broadbeach Bowls Club in Gold Coast, Australia.
It was Malaysia’s first women’s gold since the inception of ladies’ events in the World Championships in 1969.
Speaking to Scoop, the national lawn bowls head coach, Zuraidi Puteh, said that NSC should stop prioritising the colour of the medals won by the athletes and should focus more on supporting the needs of the athletes, which can help them improve their performance.
“Our athletes have consistently shown exceptional dedication and performance in all the tournaments they have competed in over the years.
“While medals are undoubtedly a testament to their hard work, we believe that NSC should continue to recognise their efforts even if they don’t always win gold.
“Yes, we didn’t win gold in last year’s Commonwealth Games… we won a silver, but that shouldn’t be a reason for them to exclude us from the programme for more than a year.
“The emphasis should be on fostering a culture of excellence in our sport. NSC’s support is crucial in this regard. We have many promising athletes who may not have won gold yet but have the potential to do so in the future.
“Inclusion in the podium programme will enable them to access the resources and support necessary to reach the top.
“I’m glad that they have finally included our athletes in the programme again, and I hope they stay consistent with their decision this time,” said Zuraidi.
The Perak-born coach further said that he was impressed with his athletes’ performance in the world championship and is happy to see them achieve more than what the federation targeted.
“I’m really proud of my athletes… it’s not easy to emerge victorious against powerhouse nations like Australia and England in this sport.
“We only aimed to give our best in this tournament, but two of our female athletes went beyond all our expectations by becoming world champions.
“We are now ranked as one of the top four nations in the world for lawn bowls, and we hope to maintain this momentum in the 2025 SEA Games by winning more gold medals for Malaysia,” added Zuraidi.
NSC athlete division director Jefri Ngadirin had earlier announced that lawn bowls had been listed in the elite athlete preparation programme as the NSC wants to prepare athletes for three upcoming SEA Games—the 2025 edition in Thailand, Malaysia in 2027, and Singapore in 2029. — September 20, 2023