Poor returns from Munich

national bowlers struggled to sizzle at the Brunswick Euro Challenge (BEC) in Munich.

Out of the 21 Malaysians, only seven, including two backup bowlers, made the cut for the final round.

Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheah were Malaysia’s best finishers and were also the only Malaysians to feature in Step Two of the final round.

Unfortunately, Siti Safiyah’s six-game series of 1,290 was just four pins shy of a top-eight finish, which would have seen her through to Step Three. Li Jane, finished ninth on 1,286 while Esther came in 18th with 1,250.

Sweden’s Martin Larsen pocketed €11,500 (RM53,000) when he defeated Finland’s Niko Oksanen 184-160 in the stepladder final to bag the title on Sunday.

“We (MTBC) have learned a lot about our bowlers’ abilities in handling tricky lane conditions,” said MTBC secretary general Maradona Chok.

There was some consolation for the national contingent as Li Jane and Esther came in second and third respectively in the best female players category.

In the qualifying squad, Li Jane had posted a six-game series of 1,439 while Esther bowled a 1,417.

Danielle McEwan of the United States took the first spot on 1,487.

World champions Adrian Ang and Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam along with Hafiz Zainuddin and Nur Amirah Auni Azman were the other national bowlers to reach final round but were ousted in Step One.

The team will head to Bangkok next week for the Thailand Open.