KUALA LUMPUR — The national lawn bowls squad is on the right path to deliver their Malaysia Day gift tomorrow, as two athletes made it into the 2023 World Bowls Champion of Champions semifinals in Gold Coast, Australia.
In the men’s singles quarterfinals today, last year’s runner-up Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple beat veteran Pat Bird of Canada 1-0 in a tie-breaker, after both tied winning a set each and drew one.
The two-time Asian champion Izzat, who lost the title through a tie-breaker in the finals in New Zealand last year, will be taking on Daniel Salmon of Wales in the last-four stage, tomorrow.
Scotland’s Darren Gualtieri will take on Edward Morris of England in another semifinal.
Meanwhile, Nurul Alyani Jamil defeated Anna Christine Fourie of South Africa 5-1 to advance to the semi-finals.
The 30-year-old will face Lucy Beere from Guernsey, a small island nation located in the English Channel near the French coast, while Singapore’s Philomena Goh Quee Kee is to play against Anne Nunes of the United States.
The national team maintained their good run after having claimed a gold and bronze medal in the World Bowls Championship, which ended last weekend in Gold Coast.
Debutants Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi created history for Malaysia when they won the women’s pairs for the first time, while Izzat-Mohammad Soufi Rusli took men’s pairs bronze.
Malaysia had won three titles in the Singles Champion of Champions, a tournament contested among the respective national singles title winners since 2003.
Women’s bowler Nor Iryani Azmi was the first Malaysian to emerge champion in the 2005 edition, followed by Hizlee Abdul Rais (men’s singles) in 2012 and Emma Saroji (women’s singles) in 2015. — September 15, 2023