BANGKOK: It’s the World Championships all over again for Rafiq Ismail.
Fresh off winning a bronze medal at the world meet in Hong Kong, the national bowler is now looking to the SEA Games, with greater intensity.
He knows the road to medals - especially gold - in Thailand will be rocky, largely because of the competition format.
While bowlers play six games during qualification for all events, the knockout rounds drastically raise the stakes, as a single match determines the winner.
“It feels like the World Championships again, but far more intense. In the recent Worlds, you had about three games to decide the winner, but here it’s just one. A simple format, but it can be devastating,” said Rafiq.
“We can’t afford any mistakes. Everything has to be perfect - focus, vision, everything.
“We just got back from Hong Kong and had a few days’ break. We started training again in Sunway only on Monday,” said Rafiq, who has the burden of high expectation on his shoulder.
Not only does he have to live up to his status as the World Championships bronze medallist, he also has his SEA Games record to keep up.
He made his SEA Games debut in 2015 in Singapore at just 18, and won three gold medals in the singles, trios, and team events, plus a silver in the masters.
Two years later, on home soil, he captured two more golds in the singles and masters. At the 2019 Manila Games, he added a team gold and a doubles bronze.
“I want to keep adding to the collection. My main target is the team event. The chances of winning are higher - only seven nations are competing.
“But again, it’s the format: one-game knockout. Hopefully, the timing and chemistry among the bowlers will bring us the gold.”
At last week’s World Championships, Rafiq won bronze in the doubles alongside Syazirol Shamsudin, who will also compete in Bangkok.
Joining them in the men’s line-up are Tun Ameerul Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam and Tsen Fan Yew.
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