KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian men’s bowling team made history by clinching their first-ever championship title at the International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Cup in Kowloon, Hong Kong, today.
The national team overcame a tough challenge from Puerto Rico to win 3-2 with scores of 203-179, 216-257, 197-180, 185-222 and 227-161 at the Top Bowl, Kai Tak Sports Park.
The team comprised Timmy Tan, Ahmad Muaz Mohd Fishol, Muhammad Rafiq Ismail and Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam.
This is the first title for the national men’s squad since the team event was introduced in 2022 in Queensland, Australia, where they lost 2-3 to the Philippines in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Malaysia eliminated Kuwait 3-1 (205-153, 159-201, 245-206 and 234-233) to reach the final while Puerto Rico avenged their last edition’s 1-3 final loss to the United States by overcoming the defending champions 3-1 (186-175, 158-234, 200-196 and 210-177).
However, the women’s squad failed to achieve a double for Malaysia when they lost 195-214, 222-211, 176-198, 220-210, 180-211 to the United States in the final.
The team, led by Asia’s number one Sin Li Jane, alongside Natasha Mohamed Roslan, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Gillian Lim, earlier defeated Macau 202-184, 211-178, 205-176 to advance to the final.
In the previous edition in 2022, the women’s team secured a bronze medal after overcoming the United States 3-2 in the medal playoff.
In 2022, the tournament’s structure was revamped to highlight match play and introduce team competitions, shifting away from its original individual-only format that had been in place since 1965.
Last Friday, Natasha became the first Malaysian woman to win the World Cup, defeating Germany’s Birgit Noreiks 217-166 and 226-169 in the women’s singles final. – January 14, 2025