Rafiq and Syazirol make up for earlier frustrations with doubles success

Together they rule: Mohd Syazirol Shamsudin and Rafiq Ismail (pic, below) in action during the men’s doubles final yesterday. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

BANGKOK: National bowlers Rafiq Ismail and Mohd Syazirol Shamsudin were frustrated men before the men’s doubles final. Not anymore.

The Malaysian duo produced a commanding performance in front of a hostile home crowd to beat hosts Lapasdanai Chusaeng-Vilinkorn Kledkaew 470-435 for gold at the Blu-O Rhythm and Bowl in Ratchayothin yesterday.

The road to gold had been anything but smooth.

In the men’s singles, Rafiq had been ousted in the quarter-finals while Syazirol saw himself in a organisational mess when he was drawn against the wrong opponent and had to restart the semi-finals midway before settling for the bronze.

Then, the pair could only finish fififth with a total of 2,546 pins in the qualifying round.

In the quarter-finals, they were locked in a tense battle with Thailand’s Supakrit Wantasuk-Napat Buspanikonkul, ending the match tied at 443 before edging a narrow 39-37 victory to advance to the semi-finals.

Then, things changed. Rafiq-Syazirol produced a more straightforward performance in the semi-finals, overcoming Nu’man Syahmi-Jomond Chia of Singapore 470-419 to seal their place in the final and seal the win.

Rafiq was overjoyed that they survived the gruelling competition format to emerge as champions.

“I am really happy,” said Rafiq, who also won men’s doubles bronze medal with Syazirol in the World Championships earlier this month.

“Even though it’s at SEA Games level, the format is tough.

“Usually we play six games and that’s it, but this time only the top eight from qualifying round advance to quarter-finals and then it’s head-to-head knockout, so there’s no room for mistakes, no chance to relax.

The gold medal was a personal redemption for Rafiq, who had lost to Philippines’ Mark Jesus San Jose in the single quarter-finals last Sunday.

“You could say this was a way for me to release my frustration.

‘‘There were quite a lot of people questioning my standards.”

For Syazirol, too, the gold was also a redemption after the organisers’ blunder which saw him eventually finishing with a bronze.

He expressed his gratitude for the support from Rafiq.

“I was nervous because I was paired with a top Asian player,” said Syazirol.

“Rafiq’s spirit never drops – he is always encouraging me, even when I’m struggling in a match.”

It was Malaysia’s first gold medal in bowling this edition, following Natasha Roslan’s silver medal in the women’s singles event on Monday.

Meanwhile, Tsen Fan Yew and Tun Ameerul Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam settled for bronze after falling 389-450 to eventual silver medallists Lapasdanai-Vilinkorn in the semi-finals.