Sarawak lawn bowlers face mixed results in challenging day

KUCHING: Sarawak’s lawn bowlers faced a challenging day in Wednesday’s (Aug 14) matches as they battled through a series of tough contests with mixed outcomes.

While there were some positive moments, the overall results were not in Sarawak’s favour.

In the Men’s Triples, Sarawak had a difficult time, suffering defeats in all three of their matches. They lost 10-19 to Melaka, 12-15 to Terengganu, and 10-20 to Pahang.

These losses have put a dent in their campaign, making Thursday’s (Aug 15) match against Negeri Sembilan a must-win situation if they are to remain in contention for a top three finish and a spot in the quarterfinals.

The men’s pairs saw a more varied performance; Sarawak secured a dominant victory over Perak with a score of 17-4 but later lost to Perlis, ending the match 14-17.

The women’s singles delivered solid results, winning both of their matches. Sarawak triumphed over Perak with a score of 21-13 and repeated the same scoreline against Pulau Pinang.

Sarawak Lawn Bowls Head Coach Nur Fithri Yaani Hamdin.

However, the women’s fours faced a different fate, losing narrowly to both Perak (9-11) and Pahang (9-13).

Sarawak head coach Nur Fithri Yaani Hamdin described the losses as sport’s inherent ups and downs.

“In general, the games today were satisfying, but certain parts need to be better. What happened today can be considered the ups and downs of the game. But they still performed their best, and there is still tomorrow.

“For the men’s triples, despite leading in the early stages of some games, they lost focus, allowing their opponents to pull ahead.

“They must win to reach the top three,” she told reporters after the match at the Sarawak Lawn Bowls Arena here.

Men’s triples player Mohamad Amsyar Mohamad Amelin.

Meanwhile, men’s triples player Mohamad Amsyar Mohamad Amelin said their losses were a mix of technical shortcomings and facing strong opponents.

“Today was quite a bad day for us; we lost all three matches in the men’s triples. It was 50/50—us lacking technique and facing powerful opponents.

“For tomorrow, to vie for the top three spot, we have to fight the big one, which is Negeri Sembilan. They are in the top five while we are in the top four,” he added.