Not a good ending for our men
Timmy, Muaz, Alex, Adrian, Syafiq and Rafiq settle for seventh spot
MALAYSIAN men bowlers failed to end a 40-year gold medal drought in the team event after running out of steam at the Jakabaring Bowling Centre in Palembang.
Timmy Tan, Ahmad Muaz Fishol, Alex Liew, Adrian Ang, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek and Rafiq Ismail finished seventh after ending the gruelling 36-game battle with a combined 8,042 pinfalls yesterday.
It was an anti-climax show by the men after Malaysia had been on a roll winning the women’s trio gold, men’s trio silver and women’s team silver in the first three days of the competitions.
Hopes were high on the team after having finished as the runners-up at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2014 Incheon editions but yesterday, they lost their footing.
They were placed fourth after the opening round but failed to sustain their form as they slipped to 11th with 215 pins adrift the top three finishers after the first block.
They returned with stronger determination but still could not make any headway and eventually finished with a whopping 498 pins behind winners South Korea.
Choi Bok-eum, Hong Hae-sol, Park Jongwoo, Kim Jong-wook, Koo Seong-hoi and Kang Hee-won combined brilliantly as they led from the start to end to claim their third consecutive crown.
Hong Kong, led by veteran Wu Siu Hong, won silver on a 8,175 total for their best-ever result in the event having previously finished third in the last two Games. Taiwan were third after amassing 8,166 pinfalls.
But the men’s team can still count on Rafiq and Syafiq to make up for the disappointment when they compete in the men’s Masters event today. Rafiq and Syafiq qualified for the 16-man Masters by virtue of finishing 3rd and 16th place in the All-Events.