Commonwealth Games: Malaysian lawn bowlers miss gold, will fight for bronze

Malaysia's men's lawn bowls pairs duo Amirul Danial Abdul Rahim (right) and Mohammad Soufi Rusli (left) in action against Northern Ireland's Adam McKeown and Gary Kelly in the men's pairs semi-final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games at the Scottish Event Campus. -Bernamapic

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's lawn bowls campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games suffered a double blow on Saturday (Aug 1) as both the men's pairs and women's singles lost in their semi-finals.

They will now compete in the bronze medal play-offs.

In the men's pairs, Mohd Soufi Rusli and Amirul Danial Abdul Rahim were beaten by Northern Ireland's Gary Kelly and Adam McKeown.

The Malaysian duo were outclassed in the first set, going down 1-9, before rallying strongly to take the second set 8-2.

However, Kelly and McKeown held their nerve in the tie-break, edging through 1-0 to seal the match.

Soufi and Amirul will now turn their attention to the bronze medal match against Canada's Joe Bezear and Ryan Bester, scheduled for 4pm on Sunday (Aug 2).

In the women's singles, Emma Firyana Saroji also bowed out at the semi-final stage, losing to Guernsey's Ali Merrien in straight sets, 1-11 and 5-8.

She will take on Norfolk Island's Shae Wilson in the bronze medal match, scheduled for 8.15pm.