
Malaysia crowned Asian U-18 bowling champions after historic team sweep
With two events left to be contested in the masters, the national junior squad already boast a commanding haul of five golds and four bronzes.
It also marked the first time in the championship's history that Malaysia won both team titles in a single edition.
The landmark day was headlined by Qurratu'ain Izdihar Pozi, who completed a clean sweep of all four gold medals available to her by adding the girls' all-events crown to her earlier wins in the singles, doubles and team events.
In the girls' team competition, Qurratu'ain, Adelia Nur Syazalee, Intan Nor Azliman and Natalie Chong combined for 4,775 pinfalls over 24 games across two days to strike gold.
Taiwan settled for silver with 4,563, while Malaysia B, comprising Nursyarafana Amri, Nurul Dayana Suhaidan, Helena Jamal and Balqis Nurdini Khairul, clinched bronze with 4,456.
In the boys' team event, Sayed Abdullah, Hafiz Azhlan, Aqil Faizal and Wan Zarif Ikram Mazlan held off a strong challenge from Kuwait to win by just two pins, finishing with a total of 5,198.
Qatar claimed bronze with 5,052.
Qurratu'ain topped the girls' all-events standings with a grand total of 3,805 pinfalls.
Taiwan's Huang Hsin Teng (3,559) and Malaysia's Intan (3,555) completed the podium.
In the boys' all-events, Aqil added to his medal tally by claiming bronze with 3,921, finishing behind Kuwait's Nasser Alkandari (4,037) and Qatar's Abdulrahman Al Doseri (3,960).
"This is truly a landmark achievement for Malaysian bowling. To be crowned overall champions and make a clean sweep of both team titles for the first time speaks volumes of the talent and determination within this squad," said team manager Maradona Chok.
"Every bowler played their part, and I couldn't be prouder. Credit must go to Qurratu'ain for her incredible consistency throughout the week, and to our coaches Azidi Ameran and Alex Liew for preparing the team so well.
"With two more events to go, we'll keep pushing, but this moment is already one for the history books."
And the campaign isn't over just yet.
Qurratu'ain will be gunning for a potential fifth gold as she leads the list of 16 qualifiers for the masters event, the final leg of the tournament, which wraps up this weekend.
Malaysia will also be strongly represented in the masters, with eight girls and five boys qualifying.
Joining Qurratu'ain and Intan in the girls' field are Adelia, Balqis, Nursyarafana , Nurul, Natalie and Helena.
In the boys' division, Aqil will be accompanied by Zarif, Sayed, Affan Azmi and Hafiz.

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