Fairul keeps lawn bowlers grounded after unbeaten run

Stay focused: Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (left) and coach Fairul Izwan Abd Muin react after the former beat Cecil Alexander in his opening game. – Bernama

PETALING JAYA: National lawn bowls coach Fairul Izwan Abd Muin has urged his charges not to get carried away despite the team’s unbeaten run in the qualifying round at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Centre in Glasgow.

He noted that while his charges started strongly, their performance dipped slightly in the second game.

“In the first game, they played well. In the second, our percentage dropped a bit, but we still managed to win. “I keep reminding them to stay focused and to play better than they did the day before,” said Fairul.

Fairul added that the squad have stuck to a strict daily routine – morning gym sessions and breakfast, followed by afternoon matches.

“We do the same routine every day. We don’t stray from the plan,” he said.

Men’s singles player Izzat Shamer Dzulkeple got off to a solid start with two wins from two games.

Izzat beat Malta’s Shaun James Parnis 2-0 (8-5, 6-6) in his second game.

In the first, he beat Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander 2-0 (10-3, 7-4).

The women’s pairs of Aleena Ahmad Nawawi and Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman are also on a good run, and Fairul believes Scotland’s stumble in their opener could work in Malaysia’s favour.

“The women’s pairs are also on a good run. Scotland lost to Jersey in their first game. “We need to beat Scotland ourselves and after that, we will have a clearer picture of where we stand,” he said.

Aleena and Syafiqa began their campaign with a dominant 2-0 (13-0, 11-1) over Sharon Barnes and Krisyiane Thorsen of the Falkland Islands.

They then followed that up with a tighter 2-0 (4-3, 7-5) victory against Jersey’s Sara Douglas and Fiona Archibald.