PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Alex Liew, Adrian Ang (pic) and Zulmazran Zulkifli will need a Herculean effort on Thursday to keep their hopes alive at the Men’s World Bowling Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The trio, competing in the trios event, knocked down 1,927 pins in the first block of three games to finish 12th after two squads at the Khalifa International Bowling Centre on Wednesday.
Alex contributed 659 pinfalls while Zulmazran and Adrian scored 650 and 618 respectively to be 111 pins shy of fourth place.
And it doesn’t get any easier as they will need to post huge scores on a different oiling pattern for today’s block.
“Nothing was easy today,” said Adrian.
“We didn’t bowl great but the patience we had on the lanes today made the difference and we managed to get a score that’s not altogether bad,
“We just need to dig deep and be patient with our shots tomorrow.”
Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress secretary-general Cheah Ban Cheng remained confident the trio would be able to bounce back and take the fight in the last three games today.
“Yes, they have to work harder tomorrow (today). It was unfortunate that the pins didn’t carry today. Even when they were on target, either pin 10 or pin seven didn’t budge and they couldn’t string enough strikes,” said Ban Cheng.
“But, I do believe in their ability. Remember what happened at the Asian Games? We came back strongly to finish second in the trios.”
Bowling in squad three late on Wednesday, Malaysia’s second trios Syafig Ridhwan Abdul Malek, Timmy Tan and Ahmad Muaz found it tough going as they secured 1,827 pinfalls to place 35th.
Currently leading the standings after three squads are Denmark on 2,158 pinfalls.
The Danes hold a 79-pin lead over second placed Canada who lead third placed Sweden by one pin on a 2,079 total while the US complete the top four with 2,038.
Already a subscriber? Log in
The Star Festive Promo: Get 35% OFF Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
