PETALING JAYA: One game setback saw the women’s team miss out on the semi-finals of the International Bowling Federation (IBF) Under-21 World Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The quartet of Alyaa Addini Zulamri, Nurul Anis Nabila Nizam, Anis Hannani Romzi and Cara Loh finished fourth in Group B with 12 points.
They won four games and lost three. They needed to win the last two games to get to the semi-finals, instead they lost their sixth match against the United States 182-202.
The Americans then went on to beat Australia 224-157 to seal their spot in the semis.
Malaysia ended their group campaign with a 201-174 win against New Zealand, but it was too little too late.
The US and South Korea qualified for the semi-finals with 15 points each.
In the other group, Singapore and Sweden make up the last four.
Coach Alex Liew said their effort should be lauded, especially in their first-ever World Championships.
“The girls nearly made it. They just needed one more win to get to the next stage, but it was a tough group,” he said.
“They fought until the end and that’s what we wanted to see.
“This is a new batch. They are all students. So it shows that we have a good youth programme capable of producing world-class bowlers.”
Meanwhile, the men’s quartet of Megat Zaqrul Haiqal Megat Zairudin, Ahmad Azriq Izamudin, Shaqeem Izwan Teh Shahrul Hafiz Teh and Airel Amri Suhaimi finished last in their group.
They started with a 206-182 win against Norway but lost their next six matches.
Malaysia will have two representatives in the singles semi-finals held today.
Alyaa faces Zoriani Reyes of Puerto Rico in the women’s event while Azriq will take on Bae Jung-hun of South Korea in the men.
Megat-Airel will participate in the men’s doubles semi-finals.