Muaz, Safiyah roll into World Cup semi-finals

BOWLERS Ahmad Muaz Mohd Fishol and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman both held steady when it mattered to reach the AMF World Cup semi-finals in Hermosillo, Mexico, on Friday.

Muaz fired lines of 190, 180, 224, 188, 212, 212, 204 and 275 in the top-eight round for a grand total of 8,961 pinfalls. The result saw him end the qualifiers in second place overall, behind top ranked Venezuelan Ildemaro Ruiz Jr (8,966).

Safiyah reeled in 257, 245, 216, 163, 218, 245, 223, and 237 for fourth spot on 8,826, 178 pins behind top ranked Jenny Wegner of Sweden.

Muaz will face third placed Jakob Butturff (8,906) of United States while Safiyah plays Jenny (both one game sudden death format) for a place in the decider.

Having been named in the Podium Programme on Friday, Muaz is determined to prove himself at the business end of the competition.

“It has been a tough competition so far but the feeling has been good, I feel quite motivated after not performing too well at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games,” said the 24-year-old.

Safiyah, competing in her fourth World Cup, is determined to go all the way.

“It has been a long week and I worked hard to slowly work my way up, block by block,” said the 27-year-old.

“I am so happy to have made it into the top four because it was a really high scoring, tough day. I really want to win it this time since I have fought so hard to be here.”

Safiyah’s previous best in the competition was third at the 2009 edition held in Melaka. Fadhli Ishak