Syafiqa’s lawn bowl silver is proof of her labour of love

PETALING JAYA: National lawn bowler Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman (pic) says the women’s pairs silver medal she won at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games while five months pregnant with her first child is the most meaningful achievement of her career.

Syafiqa, who combined with Aleena Ahmad Nawawi to bag the silver medal at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) on Tuesday, said their journey to the final was no bed of roses.

“This (silver medal) means so much because this time I had the strongest support. The journey to winning silver wasn’t easy, I am grateful. This blessing belongs to my baby, too,” she told Bernama.

The 32-year-old said she discovered she was pregnant during the selection process for the Commonwealth Games, but it never deterred her from pursuing her dream alongside Aleena.

“My coach knew from the start. I was lucky because I didn’t experience any morning sickness. Even though I’m pregnant, I was still able to play as I normally would,” added Syafiqa, who dedicated the silver medal to her husband, Nizam Yusof.

For the record, national shooter Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi captured global attention when she competed in the 10m air rifle event at the 2012 London Olympics while eight months pregnant.

Meanwhile, world No. 1 Emma Firyana Saroji got off to a winning start in her Common­wealth Games lawn bowls campaign by winning her opening women’s singles group match.

Emma defeated Common­wealth debutant Caroline White­head of the Isle of Man 2-0.

Fellow Malaysians Amirul Danial Abdul Rahim and Soufi Rusli also notched their first win in the men’s pairs event.

The duo fended off a strong challenge from Malta’s Troy Lorimer and Shaun James Parnis to win the tie-break 2-0 after tying 1-1 in regulation time.

Emma was scheduled to take on Zambia’s Mildred Mkandawire later in the evening while the men’s pair will be up against Jersey’s Ross Davis and Malcolm de Sousa.