Masterful stuff
Rafiq shows his class by coming from behind twice to grab gold
NATIONAL bowler Rafiq Ismail is a class act.
He proved it with a masterful display on the final day that saw the 21-year-old come from behind – not once, but twice – to become Malaysia’s first-ever men’s Masters gold medallist at the Asian Games in Indonesia.
Rafiq, lying sixth after the first block of eight games on Sunday, made a sensational comeback to march into the three-man stepladder finals as the top qualifier with a 3,995 total pinfall.
In the final, he came from a 21-pin deficit to stun defending champion Park Jong-woo of South Korea 534-511 (245-266, 289-245) in a two-game final at the Jakabaring Bowling Centre in Palembang yesterday.
Rafiq was on fire in the final game as he registered nine strikes and a nine spare to leave the two-time world champion Jong-woo with no chance.
Thanks to Rafiq, Malaysia will return home with two gold medals from bowling after having won the first through the women’s trio of Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Esther Cheah on the opening day.
It was Rafiq’s never-say-die attitude that landed him his biggest career victory – and the young man was over the moon.
“I never stopped hoping and fought until the last frame. I was focused and made good shots to match the seasoned bowler Park,” said a jubilant Rafiq.
“I’m very happy to come out tops! It surely feels like winning the Olympic gold!”
Rafiq’s victory in the men’s Masters prevented the Koreans from dominating the event for the fourth time in a row.
Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek was the other Malaysian representative in the 16-man finals and he finished eighth with a 3,806 total.
Meanwhile, Syaidatul and Natasha Roslan could not make a strong return in the second block to advance.
Natasha came in 10th on 3,695 while Syaidatul failed to produce the form that saw her topping the all-events standings. She finished 14th after amassing 3,544 pinfalls.
South Korea, who ruled both the men’s and women’s team of six, were handed a double blow when they failed to grab the women’s Masters gold despite having two stepladder finallists.
Like Rafiq, Japan’s Mirai Ishimoto also became the first gold-medal winner from her country in the Masters when she prevailed 481-473 (240-229, 241-244) against Lee Yeon-ji in a pulsating match.
Besides the two golds, Malaysia also clinched two silvers in the women’s team and men’s trios to finish second behind South Korea in the medal tally. The Koreans pipped Malaysia by just two bronzes.
Team manager Maradona Chok hailed the team’s achievement as outstanding.
“I’ve to give full credit to Holloway (Cheah, head coach) and his team. They have guided the team to a great achievement despite the organiser reducing the number of events from 12 to six,” said Maradona.
“We came back with only silvers at the last Games in Incheon but this time, our bowlers made up for that.
“The win for Rafiq cements him as the top Asian bowler and I’m sure he’ll bring more glory for Malaysia. This is our team’s Merdeka Day present to Malaysia!”