MALAYSIAN GIRLS CONTINUE GOLD RUSH
Nurul Dini, Gillian Lim, Najwa and Nur Aina dominate the lanes in Kuching
IT continued to rain gold for the Malaysian girls at the 18th Asian Schools Bowling Championships in Kuching. The quartet of Puteri Nurul Dini Mohd Faudzi, Gillian Lim, Najwa Nazirah Mohd Amir and Nur Aina Kamalia Abdul Ayub claimed the team gold after amassing a combined total of 4,959 pinfalls at the Sarawak Megalanes in Batu Kawah yesterday.
They finished ahead of Australia’s Kylie Bailey, Emily Johnston, Chloe Jones and Jamie Phelan, who came in second on 4,626 pinfalls and Singapore’s Fione Liew, Fiona Yew, Zong Shin Yi and Arielle Tay on 4,605.
Nurul Dini, who won the doubles gold medal on Tuesday with Gillian, also bagged the girls’ all events gold on grand total of 3,773 pinfalls, edging her partner by a mere four pins.
Singapore’s Shin Yi (3,665), settled for the bronze medal.
Nurul Dini — who is also hoping for a National Youth call-up — when contacted said: “I really did not expect this. Now I have three gold medals.
“My target was to come here and improve on my average, that is all.”
The former Kedah bowler, who has switched to representing Negeri Sembilan recently, added that she will do her best to win the Masters event tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the boys’ team of Muhd Hazim Alihanafiah, Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Muhd Arif Iskandar Azahar and Ahmad Azriq Izamudin settled for the silver, after chalking up a combined total of 5,077 pinfalls.
Indonesia’s Wibianzo Joaque, Marvin Santoso, and siblings Patrick and Paolo Hernandez won the gold on 5,183 pinfalls, while team Malaysia B’s Abang Aqif Yazid Abang Azman, Tsen Fan Yew, Muhd Nur Syafiq Amran and Morgan Chang came in third on 4,857.
Hazim (3,927) and Azriq (3,924) also won the silver and bronze medal respectively in the boys’ all events category. Hong Kong’s Ivan Tse (3,949) claimed the gold.
The top 16 boys and girls after all events, will roll off two blocks of eight games each today and tomorrow, before advancing to the Masters stepladder finals.