Sabah bowlers impress with top finishes at National Junior Circuit Sarawak leg

KOTA KINABALU (Feb 14): Sabah’s young bowlers delivered an outstanding performance at the recently concluded SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC National Junior Circuit (Sarawak Leg), returning home with three gold and three bronze medals.

The gold medals came in the Boys’ Under-12 category, with Muhammad Hafiz Saiful in fine form throughout the tournament held at Megalanes Sarawak, E-Mart Batu Kawa in Kuching.

In the Girls’ Under-12 event, Aisyah Hana Anugerah secured third place for Sabah. Hafiz’s elder sister, Miasara Adawiyah Saiful, clinched the Girls’ Open title, while Chloe Ho Rui Zhi finished third in the same event.

Sabah’s excellent performance continued in the Boys’ Open category, with Muhammad Zaki Abdul Rahman taking first place and teammate Mohammad Danish Hakim Fadzil finishing third.

The state’s depth of talent was further demonstrated with several bowlers achieving top-10 finishes. In the Under-12 category, Mohd Noah Adyan Mohd Nadiysyairazi ranked eighth in the boys’ event, while Nursyafiqah Yusra Shajahan narrowly missed a podium finish, coming fourth in the girls’ event.

In the Graded category, Addriel Kniko Japlin finished sixth in the boys’ event, while Dayang Hasya Izz Zayani Abg Mohd Hafiff (fourth), Sharifah Maryam Mukhlisah Shariff Abu Bakar (sixth), Adeena Amilin Amiruddin (seventh) and Nurzulaikha Balqis Zulkifly Effendy (eighth) also earned strong placings.

For the Open category, Mohd Faris Faiq Afillah (sixth) and Tristen Lee Yan Wai (seventh) competed in the boys’ event, while Dhaniyya Marissa Aleeya Drahman (sixth) and Najmina Najihah Kamaruddin (eighth) represented Sabah in the girls’ event.

The Sabah contingent comprised 84 athletes under the age of 18, accompanied by 10 officials and coaches.

Contingent head Aisyah Abdullah, who is also deputy president of the Sabah Tenpin Bowling Association (PTBNS), expressed pride in the achievements of Sabah’s young athletes, particularly those under the Sabah Sports Council (MSN Sabah) Back-Up Athletes and Talent Training Programme.

“It is hoped that this momentum will continue at the Sabah leg of the national junior circuit in July,” she said in a statement.