SINGAPORE, June 9 — National kegler Muhamad Rafiq Ismail, marked his SEA Games debut by setting the lanes ablaze at the Orchid Country Club in Yishun, here today, to claim the country's first gold medal of the tenpin bowling competition.
The 18-year-old Rafiq, knocked down 1,308 pins to edge Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon by three pins to win the men's singles gold while Singapore's Javier Tan took the bronze with 1,284 pin falls.
As soon as the roll off started, Rafiq set the Orchid Country Club lanes ablaze with scores of 246, 221, 235 and 225 pin falls in the first four games before ending with 192 and 189 in the final two frames.
"After five games, I was leading Annop, Javier and Ryan Lalilasang from Indonesia by 30 pin falls. Coach (Holloway Cheah) advised me to remain focused in the remaining throw.
"But problems started when I failed to make some adjustment to my throws since I was releasing the ball too quickly. The win will spur me to do better in the remaining competition since I do not have a problem with the oiling pattern.
"Tomorrow I will be competing in the doubles and hope to achieve a similar feat," said the left-handed bowler from Selangor. — Bernama
