NUR SYAZWANI ON A HIGH
Impressive final game earns her world youth gold medal
NUR Syazwani Sahar can now stand tall as she was crowned world youth champion in Detroit on Wednesday. The 19-year-old bowler not only helped the girls’ team reach the World Youth Championships semi-finals, but also won the allevents gold medal in dramatic fashion with a high final game to move up six rungs for the crown.
The victory is also Nur Syazwani's first major title since the Thailand Open youth title in 2015.
“The team gold is what we really want and I seriously did not expect this,” said Syazwani, who reeled in a massive 267 in her final game to help Malaysia qualify for the team semi-finals, in Detroit.
They finished second on a 5,005 total.
South Korea topped the standings on 5,103 while the United States (4,987) and Sweden (4,956) came in third and fourth respectively.
The teams completed the semifinals late yesterday.
“This is definitely a dream come true for me. A world youth title to my name is a fantastic effort.
“I was shocked when I was told that I had won gold. I was just trying to do my best to help my team reach the top four,” added Syazwani, who become the first Malaysian to win gold in the girls’ all-events since Esther Cheah in 2006.
Syazwani, the only remaining member from the previous edition in Nebraska, will also be Malaysia’s sole representative in the masters event as teammates, Gillian Lim, Nur Amirah Auni Azman and Nurameera Husna Aznel all failed to make the top24 cut.
In the boys’ section, Malaysia’s Rafiq Ismail, Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Brandon Ting and Shahrukh Amin Zulkifli finished sixth, missing the semi-finals by 21 pins. They posted 5,125 pinfalls, averaging 213.54.
Japan topped the field with a 5,191 total, followed by the Philippines (5,147), Qatar (5,146) and Finland (5,146).
“The boys fought hard, but it was very unfortunate that they did not make it.
“It was so close as the third and fourth ranked teams were tied... 21 pins is too close,” said team manager Maradona Chok.
Shahrukh and Tun Hakim, however, will bowl in the boys’ masters event, after making the cut on 20th (3,855) and 24th (3,853) respectively.