KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia continued to assert dominance in the lawn bowls scene, emerging as the overall champions of the Asian Lawn Bowl Championship in Pattaya, Thailand, yesterday.
The defending champions swept three gold medals, courtesy of Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (men’s singles); Soufi Rusli, Idham Amin, Fadley Jabal (men’s triples); and Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi, Aleena Ahmad Nawawi, Farah Ain, and Syafiqa Haidar Afif (women’s fours).
Malaysia also secured two silvers and a bronze in the tournament.
Speaking to Scoop, Malaysia Lawn Bowls Federation (MLBF) president Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz expressed his delight with his team’s achievement despite the tough environment they faced at the championship.
He further aims to send the young team, coached by Zuraidi Puteh, for more tournament exposure in the future.
“I’m indeed very happy with the team’s achievement, especially in maintaining the championship under such challenging conditions in Pattaya. The natural grass used in the tournament was something new for us and it slowed down the speed of the ball.
“The weather was also extremely hot, reaching 40 degrees Celsius at one point. We had a mix of old and new players, but the team’s average age is relatively young, at 26 years old.
“However, we still believe that our player selection mechanism is quite effective.
“We also acknowledge that our opponents have improved significantly. Teams from the Philippines, India, and Thailand are notably stronger.
“We are looking forward to giving this team more exposure in other international tournaments, such as the Australian Open in June this year, and possibly the SEA Games in Thailand next year, if the game is included in the multisport event,” said Awalan when contacted.
The Philippines emerged as runners-up in the tournament after winning three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, followed by India with two gold and three bronze medals in third place.
The Under-25 tournament saw the national team bringing back one silver and three bronze medals.
The next edition of the Asian Lawn Bowl Championship is scheduled to take place in the Philippines next year. – March 11 ,2024