NATIONAL lawn bowler Siti Zalina Ahmad (pic) is off to a strong start in the women’s singles event after winning her first two matches in the group stage of the Commonwealth Games.
The 42-year-old hit the ground running in the opening match when she overwhelmed Niue’s Olivia Eunice Buckingham 21-7 at Victoria Park in Leamington Spa yesterday.
Zalina was dominant in the first six ends when she collected 11 points, compared to Buckingham, who only had two.
But she struggled in the next five as she failed to collect a single point while Buckingham was quick to hit five points to close the deficit to four.
The steely Zalina, relied on her experience to bounce back in the next four ends by collecting 10 points to ensure a triumph at 21 while Buckingham failed to collect a single point.
In the second match against England’s Amy Pharoah, Zalina continued her winning ways with a 21-11 victory.
Zalina managed to keep her lead in every end but needed 22 ends to get her 21 points.
Meanwhile, in the men’s triples, the Malaysian trio of Mohd Soufi Rosli, Mohd Syamil Syazwan Ramli and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple had a mixed outing.
They suffered heartache in the first game when they were pipped by England‘s Louis Ridout, Nick Brett and Jamie Chestney 12-13.
In the 18 ends, both sides were fighting neck-and-neck but the English trio nicked a point in the last end to down the Malaysians.
They had better fortune in the second game when they edged Canada’s Robert Law, Greg Wilson and Cameron Lefresne 15-14.
